Editing Court leet (section)

==Jury and officers==
Attendance at the court leet was often compulsory for those under its jurisdiction, with fines being meted out for non-attendance. The ability of the court to levy a fine was always subject to limitations, but the limits were never updated to account for inflation over the centuries; for those courts leet that still exist, the fine has effectively become merely [[nominal damages|nominal]] – 2p for example in the case of Laxton.<ref name="Laxton"/>

Courts leet generally had a jury formed from the [[freehold (law)|freehold]] tenants, as bondsmen could not give an oath (''jury'' means persons having taken an oath).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The jury's role was similar to that of the doomsmen of the Anglo-Saxons and included electing the officers (other than the [[Steward (office)|Steward]] who was appointed by the lord), bringing matters to the attention of the court and deciding on them.<ref name="Warwick"/><ref name="windt">{{cite journal | title= Local Government in a Small Town: A Medieval Leet Jury and its Constituents | first = Anne | last= Reiber De Windt | journal= Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies | publisher= North American Conference on British Studies | volume= 23 | issue= 4 | year= 1991 | pages = 627–654 | doi = 10.2307/4050744 | jstor= 4050744 }}</ref>

The officers of courts leet could include some or all of the following:<ref name="Alcester"/><ref name="Warwick">[http://www.warwick-uk.co.uk/town-council/warwick-court-leet.asp The Court Leet of the Worshipful Town Mayor and Chief Burgesses of Warwick] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012030530/http://www.warwick-uk.co.uk/town-council/warwick-court-leet.asp |date=12 October 2008 }} – retrieved Nov 2018</ref><ref name="WarehamOfficers">{{cite web |url=http://www.wareham-tc.gov.uk/courtleet |title=Wareham Court Leet |publisher=Wareham-tc.gov.uk |access-date=2020-03-11 |archive-date=23 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123065924/http://www.wareham-tc.gov.uk/courtleet/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Henley">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091006113811/http://www.henley-in-arden.co.uk/our-town/the-court-leet/ The Court Leet and Court Baron of the Manor of Henley-in-Arden]}} – retrieved 23 May 2009</ref>

* [[Steward (office)|Steward]], a stand-in for the lord of the manor, and hence his chief official. The steward thus acted as chairman of proceedings – in a comparable manner to a modern-day judge in a jury trial{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref name="Scriven">Scriven, J., [https://books.google.com/books?id=MfAyAAAAIAAJ ''A Treatise on Copyholds, Customary Freeholds, Ancient Demesne and the Jurisdiction of Courts Baron and Courts Leet''] (1823): Part III, Chapter XVIII.</ref>
* [[Bailiff]], the servant of the court. He was responsible for ensuring that the decisions of the court were enacted, including being responsible for summoning the jury, and performing any arrests that had been ordered by the court{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref name="Scriven"/>
* ''Reeve'', the bailiff's deputy (originally the servant of the hundred court, from which the court leet had taken its jurisdiction)
* [[Parish constable|Constable]], to ensure order during court sessions
* [[Bedel]], the usher; typically referred to as ''[[Ceremonial mace|mace bearer]]'', in modern-day courts leet, since this is largely all he now does
* Chapelayne, who provided prayers for the court
* [[Town crier|Crier]] or bellman, responsible for announcing of the court's decisions to the people of the manor in general
* Affeerers, responsible for assessing [[amercement]]s (setting the level of fines)
* Specialist professional inspectors, in lieu of portions of the jury's responsibility:
** Ale taster or [[ale conner]], to ensure the quality of [[ale]], and to check that true measures are used
** Carniters or "flesh tasters", to ensure the freshness of meat and poultry
** Bread weighers, responsible for verifying the freshness and weight of bread sold in the manor<ref name="WarehamOfficers"/>
** Searcher and sealer of leather, to ensure the quality of [[leather]] goods
** Surveyor of the highways or overseer of pavements, and brook looker or ditch reeve, to ensure the proper condition of roads and waterways
** Chimney peeper, to ensure chimneys were swept clean
** Scavenger, to ensure standards of hygiene within the lanes and privies and to try and prevent the spread of infectious disease
** Overseer of the poor, to collect and distribute alms
* Specialist enacting staff, in lieu of parts of the bailiff's responsibility
** The [[Hayward (profession)|Hayward]], responsible for [[wikt:enclosure|enclosure]]s and fences on [[common land]]
** The Woodward, responsible for patrolling woodlands and stopping poachers from hunting illegally
** The Pinherd, to impound stray animals in the [[pinfold]]