i i i C entral Courts
a King* s Bench
D espite i t s c lo se a f f in it y w ith the common people o f England th e lo c a l ad m in istration was of minimal importance b efore the a l l -
encompassing power o f the cen tra l courts. There were three major courts at W estminster w ith other in s tit u tio n s , lik e the King’s Council,
1. Bellamy, Grime and P u b lic Order, 93~94. 2. J ew ell, L ocal A dm inistration, 155.
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p o ssessin g a ce r ta in degree o f ju d ic ia l power. Although each o f th ese |
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ttiree courts, K ing’ s Bench, Common P lea s, and Chancery, had i t s own ;!|
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s p e c ific ju r is d ic tio n , the lin e s of d iv isio n were not insurm ountable. ' ^
Cases moved from court to court as occasion required fo r freq u en tly a
case had several fa c e ts a l l o f which could not be d ea lt w ith by a sin g le 4
. 1 1
cou rt. . j
i
J u st as the Exchequer had formed round the fin a n - I
- c ia l rou tin e, and the Court of Common P lea s was to grow up w ith the common law forms of a ctio n , so the constant occupation o f the King’s immedi ate ad visers w ith m atters referred to them from the Common P le a s, and also w ith m atters p a rticu la r ly touching th e King, gave r is e to a new body o f procedure, and soon to a new court - the Court of King ’ s Bench, ^
The court o f King’s Bench had o r ig in a lly follow ed the monarch as he moved around the countryside fo r i t p ossessed th e n ecessary power only when i t was near the king. During th ese wanderings th e King’ s Bench had
e sta b lish ed i t s rig h t to supersede th e power o f a l l other lo c a l courts in the county in which i t happened to s it^ and had become the most p res tig io u s of common lav/ cou rts d ea lin g with crim inal ca ses,^ I t was the
’eyre and more than the ey re’ fo r i t d ealt w ith the same s u its as the Eyre but i t was v a s tly superior to i t . I t d eliv ered the county g a o ls w ithout the need o f a sp e c ia l commission; heard p ossessory a s s iz e s and
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a ttra cted to i t s e l f a l l manner o f c i v i l s u its . I t a ls o heard
1, P luckn ett, Concise H isto ry , 157* '
2, I b id ., 150. !
3, B latcher, K ing’ s Bench, 2. 4
4* Bellamy, Crime and P u b lic Order, 99* 5* B latch er, K ing’s Bench. 2,
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presentm ents from ju r ie s o f th e hundreds o f the county in q u estion .^
This was because o f the fa c t th at a l l oth er courts were at a stand- 2
s t i l l . The ju s tic e s o f the K ing's Bench on coming in to a county
demanded th a t a l l commissioners assigned to hear and determ ine ca ses o f felo n y and tresp ass send in a l l th e ir undetermined in d ictm ents. The court made an attempt to d ea l w ith a l l b u sin e ss pending b efo re the
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J u s tic e s of th e Peace. T his a b ilit y and w illin g n e ss to hear a l l t^mes o f s u its provided fo r the com plainants o f a l l cou n ties a cheaper and le s s troublesome mode o f j u s t ic e than v/as provided by purchasing a w rit out o f Chancery.^
By the m iddle o f the fou rteen th century the K ing's Bench had ceased i t s p eregrin ation s and s e ttle d f in a ll y at W estm inster. O ccasion ally in th e fifte e n th century however, th e ju s tic e s tr a v e lle d around the country sid e to hear indictm ents b efore th e custodes p a d s where an ex cep tion a l
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le v e l o f v io len ce warranted i t . From that p oin t i t took cognizance of
th ose s u its in which the king h im self had s p e c ific in te r e st and d e a lt w ith a very lim ite d number of c i v i l s u its in order to even up the b alance between the other courts and i t s e l f .^
The K ing's Bench reviewed cases o f error in a l l low er courts except the Exchequer and the courts of the Cinque P o rts. Thus i t
1. B, H, Putnam, e d ., Proceedings b efo re the J u s tic e s of the Peace in the Fourteenth and F ifte e n th C e n tu r ie s (London. 1958). I x i.
2. B latcher, King' s Bench, 2.
3. Putnam, Proceedings b efore the J u s tic e s o f the P eace, Ix x i, 4 . B latch er, K ing's Bench. 112.
5. Harding, Law Courts. 96. 6 . B latch er, K ing's Bench. 34.
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supervised not only th e courts o f lo ca l ju r isd ic tio n and the commis
sio n s, but a lso the Court o f Common P le a s and, some would say, the Chancery i t s e l f .^ T his i s not to say the Common P lea s and Chancery were not resp on sib le fo r th e ir own ju r is d ic tio n fo r th e ir judgements were ab solu te in most ca ses, but th a t, as the c o ir t which represented
the k in g 's in te r e s ts . K ing's Bench had ju d ic ia l s e n io r ity , and the C hief J u s tic e of the K ing's Bench was the sen ior ju s tic e in th e land. I t acted as a court o f f i r s t in stan ce and thus i t u su a lly , though not
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