the tale of two courts in one town – marko lamberg 117 him an unsatisfactory building in which to run his business. The burgomasters admitted that the building he had received was of inferior quality for inn-keeping, but according to them, Hans, who was a newcomer in the town, had registered himself as a burgher and not as an inn-keeper. The Court of Appeal appointed a group consisting noble and educated men to inspect the building. Apparently, the Town Court had wanted to favour other inn-keepers at the newcomer’s expense.317 The most usual reason for the personal visits was to gather information regarding some case which the Court of Appeal was hearing.318 On several occasions however the Court of Appeal sent a representative or messenger who in fact presented a demand to the Town Court to execute a sentence previously imposed by the Court of Appeal. Such visits and demands are interesting because they seem to hint that the Court of Appeal did not completely trust the Town Court, otherwise it would certainly have been enough merely to send a letter in such cases. Perhaps the Court of Appeal also wanted to be sure that its decisions were carried out before its law term came to an end.319 The protocols of the Town Court show numerous cases in which the sentence of the Court of Appeal had not necessarily been followed, at least not by the party who had lost its case, until the claimant or his representative contacted the Town Court and asked that the sentence be implemented.320 Delayed outcomes were not necessarily caused by the burgomasters’ and the councillors’ laziness or their being too busy; sometimes it can be assumed that they were reluctant to carry out a process or execute a sentence because of solidarity or compassion. This possible reluctance can be traced in a case dealing with a woman who had committed a theft at the Royal Castle. Royal Prosecutor (hovfiskal) Andreas Bergius (Anders Berg) appeared before the Town Court in August 1624 complaining that the Town Court had allowed a “slut” (kåna) to escape from the prison. The Town Court referred the case to Councillor Anders Hendersson who had, as one of the judges of the Lower Court, supervised the custody of the suspect but was not present at the time – apparently he was visiting some 317 RA, SHA, A I a 1:1, Renskrivna protokoll 1614, 118v-119r (7 Oct. 1614). 318 For example, Stb 1616–1617, p. 313 (6 Dec. 1617). 319 For example, Stb 1618, p. 157 (4 Nov 1618); RA, SHA, B II a 2, Dombok 1617 – 1624, n. 17 (30 June 1617). 320 For example, Stb 1616–1617, p. 211 (17 March 1617); Stb 1618, p. 140 (2 Nov. 1618); Stb 1619, p. 107 (23 Aug. 1619); Stb 1622–1623, p. 121 (1 Feb. 1623).
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