Writ of quominus facts for kids
The writ of quominus was a special legal trick used a long time ago in England. It allowed one court, called the Court of Exchequer, to hear cases that usually belonged to another court, the Court of Common Pleas. The Court of Exchequer's main job was to collect money owed to the King.
This trick worked like this: if someone owed money to another person, they would pretend that they themselves owed money to the King. They would then claim they couldn't pay the King because the other person hadn't paid them back. This was a "legal fiction" – a made-up story used to make a legal process work. Because the King's money was supposedly involved, the Court of Exchequer could then step in and hear the case. This special writ was used from at least the 1200s and was common until it was stopped in 1883.
What Was the Writ of Quominus?
The Court of Exchequer was mainly responsible for collecting taxes and other money for the King. Over time, it started hearing regular cases, which were usually handled by the Court of Common Pleas. It did this using the quominus writ.
The exact beginning of this writ isn't fully known. Some experts think it came from a way people could bring a case if the King also had an interest in the money. The earliest record of a similar writ is from 1230, but it didn't use the exact "quo minus" words.
How the Legal Trick Worked
The idea behind the quominus writ was similar to another legal trick called the Bill of Middlesex, which was used by the Court of King's Bench.
Here's how it worked:
- Imagine someone (let's call them Person A) was owed money by someone else (Person B).
- Person A would claim they owed money to the King.
- Then, Person A would say they couldn't pay the King because Person B hadn't paid them back.
- Because the King's money was supposedly at risk, the Court of Exchequer could then get involved.
If this legal trick was accepted, Person B would be brought before the Court of Exchequer, and the case would be heard there.
When Was It Used?
By the 1500s, the quominus writ was commonly used in the Court of Exchequer. However, the court was quite strict about it. They would check if hearing the case would actually benefit the King in some way. If it didn't, they would send the case to another court.
The Court of Common Pleas didn't really try to stop the Exchequer from using this writ. This was mainly because the Common Pleas court was busy dealing with the Court of King's Bench and its own legal trick, the Bill of Middlesex.
Some historians believe the Exchequer didn't use this writ out of pride. Instead, they felt that as the "most ancient" court, they should have a higher jurisdiction, meaning they should be able to hear more types of cases. The quominus writ continued to be used into the 1800s. However, it was finally abolished in 1883, along with other old writs, when new rules for the courts were introduced.
