50 tional features of the Court of King’s Bench, particularly at the trial level. It will be convenient to differentiate between the sittings in London and those on assize, after which attention will be given to felony trials at the Old Bailey. 2. In London The Courts of King’s Bench, Common Pleas and Chancery were located in a single large room in Westminster Hall, and the atmosphere was far fromdignified. Until about 1760, the courts were not even partitioned off; the courts had to contend with the noise of strollers, hucksters, witnesses and jurymenin-waiting (or for hire), booksellers and others. As noted by one observer, the spirit of the law courts in operation will be missed unless one takes into account “the openness of the courts which permitted the judges to see each other and command a view of the entire hall; the ever-moving and incessant throngs of loiterers; and the freedom with which visitors were permitted to laugh and talk aloud At about the time of the accession of George III (1760), “the courts were enclosed with boarding, but were held in the same places as before”.'"* Even so, the Court of King’s Bench was described by John Campbell as “a small room enclosed from the open space of the south-east angle, and here were crowded together the judges, the jury, the counsel, the attorneys, and the reporters, with little accommodation for by-standers”.‘^ In a case described in the Morning Chronicle, 18 June 1777, the reporter noted that neither Attorney General Thurlownor counsel could be heard above the talking and bustling, so that “it was difficult to know what the business was about” until Lord Mansfield spoke, when “universal silence prevailed”. And in the trial of Rex V. Bembridge,** Mansfield adjourned the trial because it was Lord Mayor’s Day, and he observed that “we shall have such a noise presently you will not be able to be heard” In these physical circumstances, the business of the Court of King’s Bench was conducted, both during and after Term. Trials of misdemeanors and at nisi prius (civil jury trials) for the City of Westminster and the County of Middlesex began during each Term (usually during the evenings), continuing after Term ended. Since jurors for the City of London were precluded by customfromsitting outside the city limits, trials of misdemeanors and at nisi prius for the City were conducted at the Guildhall, in London’s financial district. There, separate Memories of Westminster Hall, 1874, p. 1:84. Ibid. Id. at 87. 3 Doug. 327(1783). PRO/TS 11/718/2268 (“Copy fromMr. Gurney’s Shorthand Notes of the Argument in this Cause in the Court of King’s Bench November 22, 1783”), p. 83.
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