Blind Justice: On the first day of his reign, Richard addressed his
judges and lawyers and instructed them to dispense justice without
regard to a person's rank in society, or their wealth and power. This
was revolutionary in a feudal society that rested on inequality, and
eventually it was to cost him his throne.
Presumption of Innocence: Richard's laws had one goal in common: To
protect the innocent. Implicit in them is the principle of the
presumption of innocence on which our legal system is based. Until
Richard III, bail was available only to those convicted of a crime.
They would be assessed a fine and released upon payment. Therefore, if
trial could be avoided-- as it often was -- a person could be kept
imprisoned indefinitely. Richard III gave bail to those accused of a
crime so they would be free until trial. In his own words-- "The law
shall cease to be an instrument of oppression and extortion." Richard
III also made it illegal to seize a person's property untill he stood
convicted of the crime of which he was accused. Before Richard III, a
person's property was seized upon accusation.
Jury System: Before Richard's time the jury system didn't work well,
since juries were packed with itinerants, and verdicts were routinely
bought and sold. Richard III reformed the jury system with protections
against bribery and tainted verdicts, and declared that everyone who
serves on a jury should be of good repute and must own property in the
shire. Today we exclude felons from the jury pool for this reason.
Clear Title: Richard III gave us the economic protection of "Clear
Title" so unscrupulous sellers of land couldn't sell the same property
multiple times to innocent buyers. Today we rely on this protection
each time we buy a piece of property, and for most of us that is our
home.
There are many other ways in which Richard III impacts our lives today,
but his legacy has been erased by the Tudors, the folks who gave us two
of the most repellent monarchs in British history -- Henry VIII, and
Bloody Mary.
