Trial was still by
compurgation. Bishops could request the Chancery to imprison an
offender who had remained excommunicant for forty days, until he
made amends. Chancery complied as a matter of course. This went on
for six centuries.
The delineations of jurisdiction among these courts were confused
and there was much competing and overlapping of jurisdictions.
However, the court could appoint arbitrators or suggest to the
parties to compromise to avoid the harshness of a decisive
judgment which might drive the losing party to violent self-help.
The office of coroner was established about 1194 to supplement the
judicial investigations of crimes with local officers prior to the
arrival of the itinerant justices. Four knights who were residents
of the county and possessed sufficient land were elected by the
county court for life. Sometimes they had county and royal
connections instead. They received no pay. They determined if
sudden deaths were accidental or due to murder and the cause of
death of prisoners. They also held inquests on other crime such as
bodily injury, rape, and prison break. They attached [arrested]
the accused and evaluated and guarded his chattels until after the
trial. If the accused was found guilty, his possessions went to
the King. The coroner sat with the sheriff at every county court
and went with him on his turns. This office and the forbidding of
sheriffs to act as justices in their own counties reduced the
power of the sheriffs.
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