Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John
Chapter Twenty–four.
20th Century William Sharp McKechnie EnglishNullus vicecomes, constabularius, coronatores, vel alii ballivi nostri, teneant placita corone nostre.
No sheriff, constable, coroners, or others of our bailiffs, shall hold pleas of our Crown.
The main object of this provision is not open to doubt: men accused of crimes must be tried before the King’s judges and not by local magistrates of whatsoever kind. Innocent men dreaded the jurisdiction of the local tyrants whose harshness had earned widespread hatred. The sheriffs and castellans deserved their bad repute: the records of the age overflow with tales of their cruelties and oppressions. It ought not to be forgotten, however, that if this chapter contains a condemnation of the local administration of justice, it testifies to the comparative purity of the justice dispensed by the King’s own judges. So far there is no difficulty; but differences of opinion exist as to certain points of detail.