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History of the Common Law

Feudalism
produce knights the purpose of feudalism a very expensive undertaking professional
warrier class
King- enffiefs the main tenants (high nobility of UK)- grants them land in exchange for
knights supplied in fixed amounts by them. In turn, they have subtenants (lesser nobility)down to the level of knights/men/women in a village
knights couldn't run their estates which were taken care of by stuarts and bailiffs
primogenitur first born son gets everything keep all the property together; make sure he
is old enough to fight keep the land with him;
land in England at common law was not divisible by will;
the second, third sons sent all around the world by the British Empire; the English upper
class became the wealthiest in Europe; they were also concentrating the wealth by marriage;
on the continent: property was divided among younger sons also; power and wealth became
diffused
usually the older son was at odds with the father because they couldn't disinherit him; and
also btw. Brothers;
villagers:
outlaws in the forest; legal meaning kill an outlaw no consequence could be killed on
sight without any problem; tuffs clustered together in the middle of the fields for protection;
land divided into strips for each villager, to be able to work it in one day; now: crop rotation.
Before: couldn't just decide to plant sth. Else than anybody else harvested at the same
time, used for cattle. Decision-making was collective!
Couldn't seal off areas as today; all decisions had to be the same
the sight of a stranger would have been weird in a medieval village;
self-informing jury: knew who could be guilty, suspicious or not hard to keep secrets;
Different kinds of courts:
1. County court = shire meets 1/month, serious criminal cases (appeals of felony); official
presiding over the court: sheriff; chief royal official in the county;
Shire+reeve = king's bailiff in the county; high ranking land owner; noble member of the gentry, but
possibility of corruption;
coroner investigate homicides report directly to the king, bc. the sheriff could be corrupt;
2. Hundred court made of 100 county people exclude serfs; low grade crimes,
administered the frankenpledge;
The sheriff arived 2/ year in the village
3. Manorial/leet court presided by the stuart, not the knight himself
court often meets under a tree; all of the members of the village are witnesses; see p. 20.
remedy: land+marriage; enforced by the community pressure.
The 3 people who don't agree get fined even if they believe that the agreement could have
just not been that one seem that they are lying huge importance on unanimity. Society
dependant on everybody doing the same thing at the same time; also juries were required to
be unanimous. Pressures to conform.

Enforcing the law in these societies: public cry/yell+ try to stop him; otherwise you are under
suspicion to have stolen the good -> hue and cry; everybody runs out of the house. Required to have
weapons in the house for this purpose must act collectively as the police. No resources to maintain
a formal police force.
If he flies gand a band and follow him; horn the hue from vill to vill blow the horn to announce
other villages other villages know they have to react as if the hue would have been raised in their
village => be on the lookout; society on the look-out.
Catch him: execute him- he cannot say anything, no chance to defend himself;
Babington v. Yellow Taxi will the company have to pay damage to Babington's family, who got
ordered by a policeman to follow another car was he acting in his capacity as a cab driver?? Or as
an individual under the dircetion of the police officer? The taxi company had an "obligation of hue
and cry" which Babington complied with; dissent: now police forces whose job is to do this.
Community not required to catch thieves. Not acting in the scope of his employment, but as the
member of the police. Required to follow the directions of the police.
legal history in a modern case; a stretch of Cardozo.
Not a natural person- the taxi company; even individuals don't have such a duty; not
accounting for the differences in society;
Butler v. Perry- requirement to work on the roads now an open labor force, pay taxes
What are our duties of citizenship now?? Military conscription, jury duty, duty to obey the police,
acting as a witness, pay taxes.
Difference from today obligation to work on the noble's land, maintain weapons
Normans in a very big population ; how did William the Conqueror manage to subdue this
population? Wipe out villages with his knights. Murdrum a very big fine that would have been
paid, if a dead body was found (presumption that it was a Normand, if not shown English)
incentive not to kill the knights
Tithing group of 10 suspected of crime => obligation to produce the criminal or pay a very big
fine.

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