Page:Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History, Volume 1.djvu/664

 650 V. BENCH AND BAR tradition entire, and says that " four discreet and learned professors of the law " were appointed by the king. He even asserts that they were " grave and sad men." Black- stone knows all about them, who they were, how they were paid, and how often the reports were published. But this is simply a growing legal myth. The reports show that they were not official. The reporter chooses among the cases as he pleases. Statements of well-known counsel are inserted as authority. The rulings of the judges are frankly criti- cized. One decision is said to have been " for the King's profit rather than in accordance with law." In another place the reporter contemptuously says of a judge's dictum: " This is nothing to the purpose." Even the dicta of Chief Justice Hengham are condemned as wrong. Of one ruling the reporter says that the court held the contrary at the Michaelmas term (this practice the courts have continued until the present day). The reporter makes certain judges say that a decision cited was obtained by favor and there- fore was not authority. Finally, the reporter nicknames a precipitate judge, Hervey the Hasty. It is, of course, ridic- ulous to call such reports official, but they are all the more valuable. The Year Books show us the legal profession in full bloom. The leaders of the bar are the Serjeants, but they have not as yet a monopoly of the Common Pleas practice. Other counsel appear in the reports. There is the body of students of law, attending upon the courts ; they are sometimes re- ferred to by the judges. The leaders of the bar are few in number, but the weight of professional opinion is apparent. The reporter does not hesitate to say that the opinion of the Serjeants against any decision is sure proof that it is erroneous. The very fact that the Year Books appear shows the influence of professional opinion. The dry Latin records of the cases were sufficient for Bracton, but now there was a demand for the many things which never got on the rec- ord, — the arguments of counsel, the remarks of the judges during argument, the skilful plea of the one lawyer, the