Court of Common Pleas (England)

[1] The court's jurisdiction was gradually undercut by the King's Bench and Exchequer of Pleas with legal fictions, the Bill of Middlesex and Writ of Quominus respectively.

[4] In concert with the curia regis, eyre circuits staffed by itinerant judges dispensed justice throughout the country, operating on fixed paths at certain times.

[8]This was originally interpreted as the foundation of the King's Bench, with the Court of Common Pleas not coming into existence until the granting of Magna Carta, which mandated in Section 17 that common pleas (cases between subject and subject, as opposed to cases involving the king) be heard in "some fixed place".

In reaction to this, the Court of King's Bench developed its own, faster system, intent on winning cases back, and through procedures such as the Writ of Quominus and Bill of Middlesex acquired a wider jurisdiction.

By 1558 the lawyers had succeeded in creating another method, enforced by the Court of King's Bench, through the action of assumpsit, which was technically for deceit.

[19] In Slade's Case, the Chief Justice of the King's Bench, John Popham, deliberately provoked the Common Pleas into bringing an assumpsit action to a higher court where the Justices of the King's Bench could vote, allowing them to overrule the Common Pleas and establish assumpsit as the main contractual action.

[20] After the death of Edmund Anderson, the more activist Francis Gawdy became Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, which briefly led to a less reactionary and more revolutionary court.

[21] The Interregnum granted some respite to the Common Pleas, which abolished fines on original writs, hurting the King's Bench, but in 1660 the fines were reinstated and "then the very attorneys of the Common Pleas boggled at them and carried all their finable business to the King's Bench".

St. 2. c. 2) to abolish latitats based on legal fictions, forbidding "special bail" in any case where "the true cause of action" was not expressed in the process.

The Bill of Middlesex disclosed the true cause of action, satisfying the 1661 statute, but did not require a valid complaint.

By the 18th century, it was customary to speak of the "twelve justices" of the three courts, not distinguishing them, and assize cases were shared equally between them.

The Court of Common Pleas, however...never was able to obtain cognizance of - the peculiar subject of King's Bench jurisdiction - Crown Pleas... the Exchequer has adopted a similar course for, though it was originally confined to the trial of revenue cases, it has, by means of another fiction - the supposition that everybody sued is a debtor to the Crown, and further, that he cannot pay his debt, because the other party will not pay him, - opened its doors to every suitor, and so drawn to itself the right of trying cases, that were never intended to be placed within its jurisdiction.

Five reports were issued, from 25 March 1869 to 10 July 1874, with the first (dealing with the formation of a single Supreme Court of Judicature) considered the most influential.

[26] The report disposed of the previous idea of merging the common law and equity, and instead suggested a single Supreme Court capable of utilising both.

[28] After Hatherly was replaced by Lord Selbourne in September 1872, a second bill was introduced after consultation with the judiciary; although along the same lines, it was far more detailed.

[31] The existence of the same courts under one unified head was a quirk of constitutional law, which prevented the compulsory demotion or retirement of Chief Justices.

The Serjeant would then be greeted by the Lord Chancellor, who would inform him of his new position; the letters patent would then be read out in court, and the new justice would swear an oath to do "justice without favour, to all men pleading before him, friends and foes alike", not to "delay to do so even though the king should command him by his letters or by word of mouth to the contrary" or "receive from anyone except the king any fee or other pension or livery nor take any gift from the pleaders before him, except food and drink of no great price".

[47] The innovation of appointment by letters patent was a scheme of Edward III's to avoid the potential for bribery, by providing a method through which judges could be paid.

[50] The crown also appointed the court chirographer, the officer responsible for noting final concords and filing records of fines.

They were responsible for enrolling records of litigation, including anything that raised a point of law, and were often consulted by the court due to their detailed technical knowledge.

[53] By tradition the Exigenter for Yorkshire and the other northern counties was also Filazer for Northumberland, Westmorland, Cumberland and Newcastle, and Clerk of the King's Silver for the entire country.

[53] The Warden of the Fleet Prison, who was also keeper of Westminster Hall, was tasked with keeping it clean and letting the shops and booths along the sides.

Despite this, the sheer number of positions meant that several came up for reappointment in each Chief Justice's tenure, and selling them could be very profitable.

A full color, illustrated manuscript of the Court in session. Up at the top are the seven Justices of the court, dressed in orange robes. Underneath the Justices are the clerks of the court, dressed in robes that are half green and half blue. Underneath the clerks are the pleaders, who are dressed in blue and gold outfits. The bottom half of the image is taken up by text written in blackletter script.
A 15th-century manuscript showing the Court of Common Pleas at work. The image shows pleaders and clients standing in front of seven Justices, and below them, their clerks
An image of King Henry II, portraying him in all white on a blue background. King Henry is sitting, holding a church. He has a royal crown on his head.
Henry II of England , who was originally thought to have created the Court of Common Pleas through a royal decree in 1178
A portrait of Sir Edmund Anderson. Sir Anderson stands in bellowing orange Justice's robes, with a scroll in his left hand.
Sir Edmund Anderson , the conservative Chief Justice of the Common Pleas who brought the Common Pleas and King's Bench into conflict over assumpsit .
A drawing of the Court of Common Pleas, created in the early 1800s. Three Justices in black robes stand on podiums in the middle of the room, hearing a case. Around the outside of the room, the public is listening in on the case.
The Court of Common Pleas in 1808
A mono-color circular portrait of Edward Coke, portraying him dressed in a ruffled collar. He has a black cap on his head and a goatee.
Sir Edward Coke , who called the court "the lock and key of the common law".
A black-and-white photograph of John Coleridge. He is wearing justice's robes, a gold chain around his sholders, and a large ruffled wig.
John Coleridge, the last Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. [ 42 ]
A full-color portrait of William Cecil. Ceclil is wearing orange robes and a large black hat. He is facing toward the camera's right, holding a white cane in his right hand and holding his cape open with his left.
William Cecil , who served as Custos Brevium . [ 49 ]