A written complaint alleging an offense punishable by the Court that was signed by private party's counsel or the attorney general and given to the clerk of the Chamber. [Cheyney 737]

Writ of Subpoena

Document issued to defendant compelling him to appear before the court. The defendant would appear before the court at the proscribed date where he would obtain a copy of the bill against him. Sometimes the defendant would also need to enter into a bond to not leave the jurisdiction of the court without its license. [Cheyney 737-8] Failure to appear would lead to a writ of attachment against the defendant and possibly a proclamation of rebellions. [Stuckey 152]

Answer

Defendant's response to the plaintiff's bill of complaint where he had to confess, deny or demurer to all of the charges laid against him within eight days after his initial appearance. Answers were written and signed by the defendant's counsel. [Cheyney 737-8]

Interrogatory

Questions put forward by the plaintiff to the defendant. The interrogatory would then be read to the defendant by the examiner of the court who would record the defendant's answers under oath during a private conference. The defendant would not have access to the interrogatory before the examination and did not have access to a lawyer during the questioning. The plaintiff was given only four days to write an interrogatory and it was limited to 15 articles. [Boyd 14] The parties had the option to have the interrogatory be conducted by commissioners chosen by the parties instead of by examiners who were court officials. [Cheyney 738]

Replication

A reply to the defendants answers in the interrogatory put forward by the plaintiff with the assistance of his counsel. [Cheyney 738]

Rejoinder

The defendants reply to the plaintiff's replication. [Cheyney 738]

Surrejoinder

A further reply of the plaintiff to the defendant's rejoinder. [Stuckey 153] Very rarely if ever used. [Stuckey 153]

Rebutter

The defendants reply to the Surrejoinder. [Stuckey 153] Very rarely if ever used. [Stuckey 153]

Witness Examination

Witnesses were put forward by either the plaintiff or the defendant and were questioned by the court's examiners or commissioners under oath in private. The procedure was very similar to the interrogatory. Witnesses were not allowed access to counsel or the questions beforehand, and the record was preserved in writing. [Cheyney 738]

Secundum Allegata el Probata

The standard hearing before the council where all of written testimony was presented to the judges for their consideration. [Scofield 75] The proceeding were held in public and counsel was allowed to speak in favor of the defense or the prosecution, and answer questions put forward by the judges. The judges would reach their final verdict at the end of the hearing. [Cheyney 739]

Super Confessionem

Hearing called by plaintiff if he believed the defendant had sufficiently confessed to the crime in his answer. At the hearing the only evidence introduced was the defendant's answer and he was allowed counsel to provide for his defense and rebut the claims against him. [Scofield 75-6]

Pro Confesso

Procedure used when defendant failed to file an answer to the plaintiff's bill of complaint or interrogatory. The court would treat the defendant as if he had confessed to the crime and summarily find him guilty and sentence him. [Scofield 75-6]

Ore Tenus

A relatively uncommon procedure used when the defendant was apprehended by a government official and confessed to the crime not under oath. The defendant was allowed to appear before the court in person without counsel and put himself at the mercy of the court for summary justice and punishment. [Cheyney 740]

Censure

The sentencing procedure for the Star Chamber. Each member of the court would have the opportunity to voice their opinion of the verdict and propose a punishment going from most junior judge to the Lord Chancellor. A majority vote would decide the sentence and in the case of a tie the Lord Chancellor would cast the deciding vote. [Scofield 76] Punishment could be divided into four general types: imprisonment, fines, public acknowledgment of offense and public humiliation. Punishment was not determined by statute or common law conception of damages, and could range from nailing the defendant's ear to a pillory to forcing him to wear a piece of paper on his hat describing his crime. [Cheyney 741-3] The most common punishment was a fine and imprisonment often until the fine had been repaid. [Boyd 17] The court, however, did not have the power to sentence the defendant to death. [Cheyney 729]

References

Cora Louise Scofield. A Study of the Court of Star Chamber. University of Chicago Press, 1900

Edward P. Cheyney. The Court of Star Chamber. The American Historical Review, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Jul., 1913), pp. 727-750

Michael Stukey. A Consideration of the Emergence and Exercise of Judicial Authority in the Star Chamber. Monash University Law Review 19 (1993) 117-164.

Newell Dalton Boyd II. The Final Years of the Court of the Star Chamber 1558-1641. Thesis submitted to Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech, 1971.

-- MichaelCoburn - 20 Oct 2014