The Reply of the Judges

1387: "The king...was in reality dethroned," says Hume.

To regain his power, the king first tried to get an election of men who would take his side in the house of commons (seeing that this body "appeared now of weight in the constitution"). This attempt failed, because the sheriffs were mostly appointed by his uncles.

The king then turned to some judges, who turned out to be willing to condemn as unlawful the impeachment of de la Pole and the establishment of the council.

The judges were:

1. Sir Robert Tresilian, chief justice of the King's Bench
2. Sir Robert Belknappe. chief justice of the Common Pleas
3. Sir John Cary, chief baron of the Exchequer
4. Holt
5. Fulthorpe
6. Bourg (three inferior justices)
7. Lockton, serjeant at law

These judges declared (quoting Hume):

1. The late commission was derogatory to the royalty and prerogative of the king
2. Those who procured it, or advised the king to consent to it, were punishable with death
3. Those who necessitated and compelled him were guilty of treason
4. Those were equally criminal who should persevere in maintaining it
5. The king has he right of dissolving parliaments at pleasure
6. The Parliament, while it sits, must first proceed upon the king's business (that is, grant him the money he wants without first getting him to agree to their demands)
7. This assembly cannot without his consent impeach any of his ministers and judges.

Hume comments that except for the last two, all of these determinations appear justifiable. In a note, he says that a Parliament in the time of Edward III got Edward to agree to make his ministers to stand down from office on the third day of every session in order that accusations might be brought against them, which implies that ministers cannot be impeached while in office. Hume also notes that Henry IV insisted that it was an established usage of Parliament "to go first through the king's business in granting supplies"--which was ironic because this was one of the charges that Henry brought against Richard when he deposed him.

"So ill grounded were most of the imputations thrown on the unhappy Richard!"