The case that ultimately became this one had been filed by the NAACP against the Attorney General of Virginia ( first James Lindsay Almond Jr . then when he resigned to run for governor his interim successor Kenneth Cartwright Patty, and later other successors ), to have the five barratry, champerty, maintenance, running and capping laws thrown out as an unconstitutional infringement of its members'rights under the 1st Amendment to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
42.
Litigation funding's journey from its prohibition in Ancient Greece to its present-day status as the life-blood of the justice system were all covered in Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury's lecture at Harbour's inaugural keynote address, "'From Barretry, Maintenance & Champerty to Litigation Funding "' at Gray s Inn, London, on 8 May 2013 . Lord Neuberger is President of the UK Supreme Court.
43.
In 1450, Cade proclaimed : " The law serveth of nowght ellys in thes days, but for to do wrong, for nothying is sped almost but false maters by colour of the law for mede, drede and favor . " Perjury was not a crime in those days . Maintenance, along with champerty, appearing armed before a justice of the law, giving of liveries, forgery of deeds, and other corrupting influences were banned under Edward III of England.
44.
Richard F . deLima inquires, regarding last week's column, " Did you mean champery, which as far as I know is, when capitalized, a town in Switzerland, or champerty, which is the support of litigation in which one has no legitimate interest ? " I meant champerty, of course, which I mistranscribed from Oxford's " 1001 Legal Words You Need to Know "-- or, in my case, need to know better.
45.
Richard F . deLima inquires, regarding last week's column, " Did you mean champery, which as far as I know is, when capitalized, a town in Switzerland, or champerty, which is the support of litigation in which one has no legitimate interest ? " I meant champerty, of course, which I mistranscribed from Oxford's " 1001 Legal Words You Need to Know "-- or, in my case, need to know better.
46.
The specified aims of the book did not prevent Harris from including some highly opinionated asides, for example this definition conveying the poor view he took of lawyers : " Sollicitor, is a Man imploy'd to take care of, and follow Suits depending in Courts of Law, or Equity, formerly allowed only to Nobility, whose Menial Servants they were; but now too frequently used by others, to the damage of the People, and the increase of Champerty and Maintenance ".
