Appendix CASE ONE - Collection Point® | The Total Digital Asset ...

12 Legal History in the Making
is used by the composers of these petitions to present a petitioner's case to the
chancellor as forcefully and as clearly as possible. 3 Each of the eleven distinct
sections that constitute the chancery bill serves a particular function and the
document as a whole displays a reasoned and developed line of argument. This
characteristic is especially important because of the less formal nature of the
process of the court of chancery in comparison with that of the common law
courts. An appreciation of this documentary form is invaluable in the search
for a better understanding of what the court did, of how it functioned and of
what its patrons thought it could accomplish - indeed, the image that the bills
provide of the chancellor and his court is rare in the history of legal institutions,
for it is derived from the viewpoint of the petitioner himself.
The canon of chancery bill form in the early fifteenth century may be
presented briefly. 4 The document usually begins with an Address to the
chancellor, which is generally set apart from the main body of the bill. The
bill itself commences with the Incipit, the first task of which is to ask the
chancellor to take notice of the description of the case that is to come. This
is followed by what is normally the longest and most complex part of the bill:
the Recital, wherein the petitioner presents a description of what should have
happened in his situation. In a few cases, this is replaced by a simple statement
of the problem that the petitioner has encountered, especially in cases of simple
attack or robbery. The Recital leads naturally to a presentation of the specific
Problem which has prompted the bill; here the petitioner usually describes
the manner in which the matter described in the Recital has miscarried or
been subverted. In most bills this is followed by an explicit Conclusion,
describing the effects, either present or expected, caused by the Problem.
It consists of two parts: first, the petitioner sets forth the particular hardship
he now suffers, or fears he will soon experience, as a result of his problem;
secondly, he elucidates the form of redress that he seeks. These four sections
of the document (Incipit; Recital; Problem; Conclusion) together constitute
the description of the case; once this has been presented to the chancellor, the
petitioner makes his prayer, itself divided into six sections.
It is introduced by the Supplication, wherein the petitioner addresses the
chancellor for the second time, asking him to take note of his particular appeal.
Following this, the petitioner presents a description of the mechanism through
which he hopes to receive the redress he seeks. First, he asks the chancellor for
Consideration of his case as he has just presented it, or of both the case and
an additional element or two. Secondly, he presents a Request for Process,
asking the chancellor for a subpoena direct to the respondent, which will
require the latter's appearance before the chancellor, often specifically in the
3 Haskett, 84-244, contains a detailed discussion of the form of the chancery bill. It should be
noted, however, that the terminology employed to describe the distinct sections of the bill has been
modified since the time of that study, and the newer form is used herein.
4 See the appended text Case One: Gye v. Luffyng; Gye v. Luffyng, for an example of the following
elements of form.