The Office of Bailiff of a Liberty

A legal digest traces the historical development and current practice of the bailiff who serves within franchises, manors, hundreds, and liberties, linking Anglo-Saxon and Norman administrative terms and roles and explaining their relation to the sheriff and bailiwick. It defines franchises and the return of writs, then systematically treats the bailiff's appointment, qualifications, powers, duties, protections, liabilities, fees, and procedural duties in court, with appendices and pleadings. Practical examples and statutory references illustrate responsibilities in civil and criminal processes, indemnity and punishment, and administrative procedure for carrying judicial orders within local jurisdictions.