Criminal procedure in Medieval England

mainly based on the cases of guilty of felony

Abstract

　This essay stands as the supplement for my former essay on the criminal procedure for criminal trespasses in Medieval England. Together, both essays now can visualise almost the whole picture of the system of criminal trials. Especially this essay treats, as its second focus alongside the procedure starting with the indictment, the procedure starting with the appeals of felony. The appeals of felony, although known as an older procedure for trial of felons, has not been given much attention in the studies of legal history, because legal historians have thought it was on the way of decaying to the substantial vanishment at the end of the Middle Ages.
　As for the first focus, on the cases of felony starting with the indictments, I had no other choice than to limit my attention to the cases ended up with conviction. There are so many records of criminal cases ending up with the judgment of quit (quietus and sine die as well), or have no record of judgment somehow or other. The conviction cases are relatively rare, and although theoretically should be followed by the hanging, there are so many special processes for passing the execution. I tried to cover all those special processes, and the relatively small variations of processes along with the cases of appeal of felony as well. Also, I suppose the readers will realize the (at least partial) resemblance of the process of appeal with the civil procedures of the time. It was strongly a ‘personal’ or ‘private’ way to use the king's court for the persecution of personal interests under the name of felony. And, as such, at least until the end of the Middle Ages alongside with the indictment, or even prior to it, the people continued to choose the appeals of felony as means to satisfy their interests, and the king's courts gave the process of appeals of felony the priority before the process of indictments.
　However, this essay ends with the minutes and details of the both processes. On this foundation, it can now be the next concern to analyse the background of the development of those special processes and the ways and reasons of using the appeals for persecution, now found not decaying at least at the end of 14th and the beginning of 15^th centuries.