Legal Definitions - de falso judicio

De falso judicio is a historical legal term that refers to a type of formal written order, known as a writ, used in past legal systems. Its purpose was to challenge and reverse a judgment made by an inferior or lower court that was believed to be incorrect or "false." Essentially, it was a mechanism for appealing a decision from a less powerful court to a higher judicial authority.

Here are some examples illustrating how de falso judicio might have been applied:

• Local Manor Court Dispute: Imagine a medieval village where a local manor court, presided over by the lord's steward, ruled that a peasant farmer was responsible for damages to a neighbor's fence, despite evidence suggesting the damage was caused by a storm. The farmer, believing the manor court's judgment was unjust and based on a misinterpretation of the facts, could have petitioned a higher royal court for a de falso judicio. This writ would compel the higher court to review the manor court's proceedings and potentially overturn the initial "false judgment," offering the farmer a chance for a fairer outcome.

• Borough Court Property Ruling: Consider a historical town where a local borough court made a decision regarding the ownership of a small plot of land between two merchants. One merchant felt that the borough court had overlooked crucial historical documents proving his family's long-standing claim to the property, leading to an erroneous judgment. In such a case, that merchant could have sought a de falso judicio from a superior court, arguing that the borough court's ruling was fundamentally flawed. The writ would initiate a review process by the higher court to determine if the lower court's judgment was indeed "false" and should be reversed.

• Debt Collection in a Hundred Court: In a historical context, if a local "hundred court" (a type of regional court) ordered a craftsman to pay a significant debt to a supplier, but the craftsman maintained he had already settled the debt with a partial payment and a trade of goods, he might view the court's full debt judgment as false. If he could present evidence that the hundred court had failed to consider, or wrongly dismissed, his proof of partial payment or trade, he could have pursued a de falso judicio. This would allow him to bring the matter before a higher court, seeking to have the hundred court's judgment declared "false" and subsequently overturned or modified.