County Court Outlawry

During the early medieval period, most of the outlaws were for criminal acts. A victim would make a public accusation called an appeal, in the county court. These appeals, along with royal writs ordering (or exacting) the appearance of the defendant, they were recorded by the coroner on his rolls, the process of outlawry had expanded considerably to include both civil and criminal actions. Although the county court remained the institution in which outlaws were declared, the process of outlawry by appeal had been largely replaced by the issuing of writs of exigent from the central courts, either at Westminster or on circuit, which exacted the individual to appear in court or suffer the penalties. If a defendant failed to appear in court, it