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From The Meanest Man To King Charles I: The King’S Role In The Trial Of King Charles I, Benjamin Lerer

University of Massachusetts Undergraduate History Journal

The House of Commons convened the High Court of Justice to try King Charles I for various high crimes and treason. The High Court of Justice found King Charles I guilty. But the High Court of Justice was illegitimate and could not try the meanest man in England. Ben Lerer analyzes civil lawyer Sir Edmund Pierce’s views on the King’s role, the views on the King’s role expressed by acts of the House of Commons, and the views on the King’s role expressed by the King himself, the crowd, and the High Court of Justice.