English Common Law in the Age of Mansfield

In the eighteenth century the English common law courts laid the foundationthat continues to support presentday AngloAmerican law. Lord Mansfield ChiefJustice o... » 

In the eighteenth century the English common law courts laid the foundationthat continues to support presentday AngloAmerican law. Lord Mansfield ChiefJustice of the Court of Kings Bench 17561788 was the dominant judicialforce behind these developments. In this abridgment of his twovolume bookThe Mansfield Manuscripts and the Growth of English Law in the EighteenthCentury James Oldham presents the fundamentals of the English common lawduring this period with a detailed description of the operational features ofthe common law courts. This work includes revised and updated versions of thehistorical and analytical essays that introduced the case transcriptions in theoriginal volumes with each chapter focusing on a different aspect of the law.While considerable scholarship has been devoted to the eighteenthcenturyEnglish criminal trial little attention has been given to the civil side. Thisbook helps to fill that gap providing an understanding of the principal bodyof substantive law with which Americas founding fathers would have beenfamiliar. It is an invaluable reference for practicing lawyers scholars andstudents of AngloAmerican legal history. «