King’s Law

The law works clumsily and crudely, but it grinds onward whether the people cooperate or not. A complaint is entered to the hundred or county court, as is appropriate (your lawyer knows which is which) and moves through the court system roughly following these steps below under “Legal Processes”.

If a suit is filed in the wrong court it is noted and “sent upstairs” to the next higher one. If the county cannot judge on it, then it goes to one of these new courts that the king has set up.

## Courts

The king dislikes “petty business” and a system has evolved to keep impersonal business from harassing him. The royal justiciar in his curia deals with most issues. Most decisions concerning royal justice are being shifted to the White City at the Court of Common Pleas.

### Court of Common Pleas

A common plea is a suit of one subject versus another subject, of which the king has no interest. It sits at the White City. The Court of Common Pleas sits at the White City and is known contemporarily as “the Bench.”

The Chief Justice of Common Pleas is the justiciar who heads the panel of judges who sit in on the cases. His justiciars are called Judges of the Common Pleas.

### Court of the King’s Bench

The Court of the King’s Bench travels with the king. It tries crimes against the king, or the king’s laws (e.g. High Justice ~ matters of life and death, crimes on the King’s Road, poachers in his parks, etc.) The King’s Bench is called coram rege (“in the presence of the king,” although the king is not usually present).

The Chief Justice of the King’s Bench tries the most important cases, such as treason, and has a panel of judges who sit in on the cases, called the Judges of the King’s Bench.

## Legal Processes

Each step in the preliminary action requires at least six months to accomplish, if all goes well. Delays are possible, often excusable, but are usually due to negligence or are purposely used to cause difficulties.

### To begin a suit

Each county has “twelve men of good standing” who have the duty to initiate cases with the court. The plaintiff must go to them, pay a court fee, and trust that they will do their job.

The plaintiff must be present when the case is filed, in case he is needed, and to ensure that the “good men” file it properly.

At the tourn in the hundred the sheriff asks the jurors to name criminals. Alternately, individuals can appeal, or present their own complaint to the sheriff. The accused are arrested if present.

If the accused is not present, a writ to compel attendance at the next court is sent by the sheriff to the accused.

Six months pass.

If refused, dodged, avoided, or ignored the first time then the sheriff issues a writ of attachment (arrest) that is sent by the sheriff to the accused to show up at next court. The sheriff will send his constable to arrest the man.

Six months pass.

If refused, dodged, avoided, or ignored the second time, then the sheriff issues a writ of distraint. The sheriff, constable, and however many men are needed go to the accused’s holding and impound all of his beasts (except plow beasts if possible) which are taken to known detention areas where they are cared for until the accused appears, pays a fine to recover his creatures, and pays for their upkeep. He is then arrested.

Six months pass.

If refused, dodged, avoided, or ignored the third time, then the sheriff declares the defendant to be in defiance, and he issues a writ to seize the person using whatever power the posse comitatus has, and even summoning knights of the county to help.

### Upon arrest

Once arrested, the accused person can replevin, or pay a bond, and go free until the next court. If the crime was too great, the criminals are irreplevisable.

Arrested criminals can roll over on their accomplices and possibly save themselves thereby. They must formally accuse their accomplice of the crime, and after the second arrest the two criminals fight until one is dead, or else both are hanged.

### Prosecute a suit

Compurgators for both sides are assembled and weigh in. A compurgator is a person who vouches for the integrity of the criminal, putting his own reputation on the line by siding with either the accuser (plaintiff) or the defender. The sheriff calculates the worthiness of the compurgators based on their reputations.

Plaintiff and defendant each make their statements of what occurred.

The sheriff rules on guilt or innocence. Punishment is inflicted immediately. Fines are levied, seizure or distraint of properties is ordered, and physical punishment inflicted.

### Distraint

Distraint is an action intended to force the defendant to come to court. To exercise distraint the sheriff first seizes the criminal’s livestock (sparing plow teams if possible). These are driven away to a holding pen, either at the county castle or another park nearby designated for the duty. If the value of the livestock is not sufficient to cover the cost of the distraint, then any other movable property (chattel) may be seized.

If those are not enough for security against the crime, then procedures are begun to take the holdings themselves (called escheatment).

The owner may pay a fine to recover his distrained possessions, and also pay fees for the daily use of the impounding lot. Of course, he is arrested when he shows up. The fines are usually paid after a court decision. If the party is guilty, all distrained goods go to the king.

## Trial and Punishment

### Commons

Trials are simple and often swift. The accused is brought forward and the charges read. Witnesses to the crime speak. If he has any witnesses or compurgators who will vouch for him they speak, and if enough of them speak well then the criminal might get free. If he is guilty, the sheriff or hundred bailiff states the traditional punishment, which is immediately carried out. Following are some crimes and punishments for commoners.

* **Petty theft:** fine and return of property
* **Theft:** hand cut off
* **Poaching:** ears cut off
* **Murder:** strangled and burnt
* **Ignoring public duty, petty social wrongs:** public humiliation in stocks
* **Heresy (Roman Church only):** burned alive
* **Repeat offenders:** non-lethal public torture
* **Breaking and entering:** hanging
* **Insult to the power of a lord:** public display in a cage
* **Treason:** hanged, drawn, and quartered ~ an action too grisly to describe here; body parts are later displayed on the city wall over gates

### Nobles

Once decided, punishment is imposed. This also is often entirely arbitrary, if the king wishes so; otherwise it more or less follows this pattern.

Following are the levels of punishment, from least to most.

* Summary dismissal (especially if pressed by a commoner)
* Token amercement (fine)
* Significant fine
* Escheatment (an escheat is when the crown takes the land back)
* Loss of title
* Debasement
* Death

## Capital Crimes

Capital crimes are the king’s business, and he (or his judges) must approve of every writ of execution. The right of infangentheof provides an exception ~ a thief caught red-handed with the goods can be condemned to death and hung at the nearest gallows.

## Common Justice

In addition to the judgment of the royal courts, the commoners may volunteer or be ordered to undergo some other methods of proving their innocence.

In the ordeal of fire, the accused must hold onto a red hot piece of iron. When his hand is unwrapped in a week, if it is infected then he is guilty. Innocence is denoted by it being uninfected or, particularly, unburned.

Dunking is another popular method. The accused is tied up and put into a sack, then thrown into some water. If he drowns he was guilty.