In Public Justice and the Criminal Trial in Late Medieval Italy, Joanna Carraway Vitiello considers the criminal trial at the end of the fourteenth century, and its function as a vehicle for dispute resolution and for prosecution in the public interest.
Author(s): Joanna Carraway Vitiello
Series: Medieval Law and Its Practice, 20
Publisher: Brill
Year: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 220
City: Leiden
9789004311350
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Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Justice, Procedure, and Context
Inquisition, Authority, and Adaptation
Local Variations in Criminal Procedures
Late Medieval Justice: A Case Study
Chapter 1 Power, Jurisdiction, and Criminal Investigation
The Signore and the Law at Reggio Emilia
Municipal Statutes
Foreign Rectors
1 Office of the Podestà at Reggio Emilia
2 The Criminal Judge
3 Notaries of the Criminal Court
4 Other Foreign Officials
The Lords of the Contado and the Question of Jurisdiction
Criminal Jurisdiction and the Reporting of Crime
Apprehension of Malefactors
Chapter 2 The Formation of a Criminal Inquisition
The Use of Private Accusatio Procedure at Reggio
Inquisitions ex officio
Public Officials and the Initiation of Inquisition Trials
Inquisitions Initiated by Private Parties
Features of the Inquisitio ex querela
The Narrative of the Crime
Citation
The Trial Process
Chapter 3 Fama, Notoriety, and the Due Process of Law
Fama, Public Knowledge, and Proof
Semel malus, semper malus? The Presumption of Innocence and Mala Fama
Ordinem iudiciarium non servare, est iuris ordinem servare: Notoriety and Due Process
Chapter 4 Proofs, Defenses, and the Determination of Guilt
or Innocence
Full and Certain Proof: Confession and the Problem of Torture
Testimony and Witnesses
Medical Evidence and Expert Testimony
Protections in Municipal Law and the Right to a Defense
Responses: Confessions, Denials, and Exceptions
Fama and the Defense
Chapter 5 Resolutions: Conviction, Absolution, and Mitigation
The Weighing of the Evidence: Statutory Proofs vs. Judicial Discretion
Contumacy, Conviction in absentia, and the Criminal Ban
Judicial Discretion in Punishment
Pecuniary Punishments
Shaming Punishments, Corporal Punishments and Capital Punishments
Incarceration
Capital Punishments
Mitigation and Instrumenta Pacis
Signorial Participation in the Administration of Justice: Instruction, Cancellations, and Pardons
Gratia and the Cancellation of Proceedings
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Places
Index of Subjects
