ABSTRACT
The prosecution of criminal justice had in a remote past rested with the victim or his kin, but by Tudor times blood-feuds were decidedly outside the law. The drive for retribution had been channelled first into the solemn appeal of felony; and then royal justice, disliking the tendency in the private sector to compromise suits for money, had sought to discourage even judicialized self-help by placing the responsibility for prosecution on the public at large. Criminal proceedings were initiated and prosecuted in the name either of a private person or of the king. Criminal informations could be laid either by a common person or by a law officer such as the Attorney-General. For all practical purposes, the jury was the only form of criminal trial at common law in the period 1550–1800, at least if we regard Star Chamber as outside the common law.
