Justice by paperwork: A day in the life of a court scribe in Bourbon Mexico City

Journal of Social History

Volumn 36, Issue 4, 2003, Pages

  Scardaville, Michael C ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 30244482083     PISSN: 00224529     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/jsh.2003.0114     Document Type: Article

References (220)

1. Archive General de laNación, Mexico (hereafter AGN), Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 7, fols. 140-144. Espinosa became an escribano shortly after migrating to Mexico City with his wife and infant daughter from his native city of Oaxaca, a medium-sized community in southern Mexico.
2. Donna Menvick examines the life of a Dutch scribe in seventeenth-century New York to explore a wide range of local and trans-Atlantic issues. Her reading of contemporary commentaries and other juridical publications "suggest that any understanding of legal practice at the time ... is incomplete without a recognition of the place of the notary." Death of a Notary: Conquest and Change in Colonial New York (Ithaca, 1999), 187.
3. Studies emphasizing the coercive and abusive nature of the criminal justice system in Bourbon Mexico City include Gabriel Haslip-Viera, Crime and Punishment in Late Colonial Mexico City, 1692-1810 (Albuquerque, 1999 ); José Arturo Yáñez Romero, Policía mexicana (Mexico City, 1999); Juan Pedro Viqueira Albán, Propriety and Permissiveness in Bourbon Mexico (Wilmington, 1999); and Colin M. MacLacnlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico: A Study of the Tribunal of the Acordada (Berkeley, 1974). For more balanced understandings of criminal justice in the viceregal capital, see José Sánchez-Arcilla Bernal, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México a finales de la época colonial. I. La punición de la embriaguez en los Libras de Reos (1794-1798)," Cuademos de Historia del Derecho 7 (2000): 309-453 and Teresa Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 1800-1821 (Mexico City, 1987). For overviews of the eighteenth and nineteenth critiques of colonial Mexican legal practices, see Robert Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico (Lincoln, 2000), 9-37 and 111-118 and Jaime del Arenal Fenochio, "Instituciones judiciales de la Nueva España," Revista de Investigaciones Juridical 22 (1998): 9-41.
4. Studies emphasizing the coercive and abusive nature of the criminal justice system in Bourbon Mexico City include Gabriel Haslip-Viera, Crime and Punishment in Late Colonial Mexico City, 1692-1810 (Albuquerque, 1999 ); José Arturo Yáñez Romero, Policía mexicana (Mexico City, 1999); Juan Pedro Viqueira Albán, Propriety and Permissiveness in Bourbon Mexico (Wilmington, 1999); and Colin M. MacLacnlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico: A Study of the Tribunal of the Acordada (Berkeley, 1974). For more balanced understandings of criminal justice in the viceregal capital, see José Sánchez-Arcilla Bernal, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México a finales de la época colonial. I. La punición de la embriaguez en los Libras de Reos (1794-1798)," Cuademos de Historia del Derecho 7 (2000): 309-453 and Teresa Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 1800-1821 (Mexico City, 1987). For overviews of the eighteenth and nineteenth critiques of colonial Mexican legal practices, see Robert Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico (Lincoln, 2000), 9-37 and 111-118 and Jaime del Arenal Fenochio, "Instituciones judiciales de la Nueva España," Revista de Investigaciones Juridical 22 (1998): 9-41.
5. Studies emphasizing the coercive and abusive nature of the criminal justice system in Bourbon Mexico City include Gabriel Haslip-Viera, Crime and Punishment in Late Colonial Mexico City, 1692-1810 (Albuquerque, 1999 ); José Arturo Yáñez Romero, Policía mexicana (Mexico City, 1999); Juan Pedro Viqueira Albán, Propriety and Permissiveness in Bourbon Mexico (Wilmington, 1999); and Colin M. MacLacnlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico: A Study of the Tribunal of the Acordada (Berkeley, 1974). For more balanced understandings of criminal justice in the viceregal capital, see José Sánchez-Arcilla Bernal, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México a finales de la época colonial. I. La punición de la embriaguez en los Libras de Reos (1794-1798)," Cuademos de Historia del Derecho 7 (2000): 309-453 and Teresa Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 1800-1821 (Mexico City, 1987). For overviews of the eighteenth and nineteenth critiques of colonial Mexican legal practices, see Robert Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico (Lincoln, 2000), 9-37 and 111-118 and Jaime del Arenal Fenochio, "Instituciones judiciales de la Nueva España," Revista de Investigaciones Juridical 22 (1998): 9-41.
6. Studies emphasizing the coercive and abusive nature of the criminal justice system in Bourbon Mexico City include Gabriel Haslip-Viera, Crime and Punishment in Late Colonial Mexico City, 1692-1810 (Albuquerque, 1999 ); José Arturo Yáñez Romero, Policía mexicana (Mexico City, 1999); Juan Pedro Viqueira Albán, Propriety and Permissiveness in Bourbon Mexico (Wilmington, 1999); and Colin M. MacLacnlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico: A Study of the Tribunal of the Acordada (Berkeley, 1974). For more balanced understandings of criminal justice in the viceregal capital, see José Sánchez-Arcilla Bernal, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México a finales de la época colonial. I. La punición de la embriaguez en los Libras de Reos (1794-1798)," Cuademos de Historia del Derecho 7 (2000): 309-453 and Teresa Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 1800-1821 (Mexico City, 1987). For overviews of the eighteenth and nineteenth critiques of colonial Mexican legal practices, see Robert Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico (Lincoln, 2000), 9-37 and 111-118 and Jaime del Arenal Fenochio, "Instituciones judiciales de la Nueva España," Revista de Investigaciones Juridical 22 (1998): 9-41.
7. Studies emphasizing the coercive and abusive nature of the criminal justice system in Bourbon Mexico City include Gabriel Haslip-Viera, Crime and Punishment in Late Colonial Mexico City, 1692-1810 (Albuquerque, 1999 ); José Arturo Yáñez Romero, Policía mexicana (Mexico City, 1999); Juan Pedro Viqueira Albán, Propriety and Permissiveness in Bourbon Mexico (Wilmington, 1999); and Colin M. MacLacnlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico: A Study of the Tribunal of the Acordada (Berkeley, 1974). For more balanced understandings of criminal justice in the viceregal capital, see José Sánchez-Arcilla Bernal, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México a finales de la época colonial. I. La punición de la embriaguez en los Libras de Reos (1794-1798)," Cuademos de Historia del Derecho 7 (2000): 309-453 and Teresa Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 1800-1821 (Mexico City, 1987). For overviews of the eighteenth and nineteenth critiques of colonial Mexican legal practices, see Robert Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico (Lincoln, 2000), 9-37 and 111-118 and Jaime del Arenal Fenochio, "Instituciones judiciales de la Nueva España," Revista de Investigaciones Juridical 22 (1998): 9-41.
8. Studies emphasizing the coercive and abusive nature of the criminal justice system in Bourbon Mexico City include Gabriel Haslip-Viera, Crime and Punishment in Late Colonial Mexico City, 1692-1810 (Albuquerque, 1999 ); José Arturo Yáñez Romero, Policía mexicana (Mexico City, 1999); Juan Pedro Viqueira Albán, Propriety and Permissiveness in Bourbon Mexico (Wilmington, 1999); and Colin M. MacLacnlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico: A Study of the Tribunal of the Acordada (Berkeley, 1974). For more balanced understandings of criminal justice in the viceregal capital, see José Sánchez-Arcilla Bernal, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México a finales de la época colonial. I. La punición de la embriaguez en los Libras de Reos (1794-1798)," Cuademos de Historia del Derecho 7 (2000): 309-453 and Teresa Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 1800-1821 (Mexico City, 1987). For overviews of the eighteenth and nineteenth critiques of colonial Mexican legal practices, see Robert Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico (Lincoln, 2000), 9-37 and 111-118 and Jaime del Arenal Fenochio, "Instituciones judiciales de la Nueva España," Revista de Investigaciones Juridical 22 (1998): 9-41.
9. Studies emphasizing the coercive and abusive nature of the criminal justice system in Bourbon Mexico City include Gabriel Haslip-Viera, Crime and Punishment in Late Colonial Mexico City, 1692-1810 (Albuquerque, 1999 ); José Arturo Yáñez Romero, Policía mexicana (Mexico City, 1999); Juan Pedro Viqueira Albán, Propriety and Permissiveness in Bourbon Mexico (Wilmington, 1999); and Colin M. MacLacnlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico: A Study of the Tribunal of the Acordada (Berkeley, 1974). For more balanced understandings of criminal justice in the viceregal capital, see José Sánchez-Arcilla Bernal, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México a finales de la época colonial. I. La punición de la embriaguez en los Libras de Reos (1794-1798)," Cuademos de Historia del Derecho 7 (2000): 309-453 and Teresa Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 1800-1821 (Mexico City, 1987). For overviews of the eighteenth and nineteenth critiques of colonial Mexican legal practices, see Robert Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico (Lincoln, 2000), 9-37 and 111-118 and Jaime del Arenal Fenochio, "Instituciones judiciales de la Nueva España," Revista de Investigaciones Juridical 22 (1998): 9-41.
10. Studies emphasizing the coercive and abusive nature of the criminal justice system in Bourbon Mexico City include Gabriel Haslip-Viera, Crime and Punishment in Late Colonial Mexico City, 1692-1810 (Albuquerque, 1999 ); José Arturo Yáñez Romero, Policía mexicana (Mexico City, 1999); Juan Pedro Viqueira Albán, Propriety and Permissiveness in Bourbon Mexico (Wilmington, 1999); and Colin M. MacLacnlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico: A Study of the Tribunal of the Acordada (Berkeley, 1974). For more balanced understandings of criminal justice in the viceregal capital, see José Sánchez-Arcilla Bernal, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México a finales de la época colonial. I. La punición de la embriaguez en los Libras de Reos (1794-1798)," Cuademos de Historia del Derecho 7 (2000): 309-453 and Teresa Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 1800-1821 (Mexico City, 1987). For overviews of the eighteenth and nineteenth critiques of colonial Mexican legal practices, see Robert Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico (Lincoln, 2000), 9-37 and 111-118 and Jaime del Arenal Fenochio, "Instituciones judiciales de la Nueva España," Revista de Investigaciones Juridical 22 (1998): 9-41.
11. For a sample of monographs published in English since 1990, see Helen Nader, Liberty in Absolutist Spain: The Habsburg Sale of Towns, 1516-1700 (Baltimore, 1990); Nicolas Henshall, The Myth of Absolutism: Change and Continuity in Early Modern European Monarchy (London, 1992); James B. Collins, The State in Early Modern France (Cambridge, 1995); Richard Bonney, The Limits of Absolutism in ancien régime France (Variorum, 1995); Ruth MacKay, The Limits of Royal Authority; Resistance and Obedience in Seventeenth-Century Castile (New York, 1999). Moreover, one of the principal conclusions reached in the sweeping seven-volume series that recently examined the process of European state formation from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries was that "in practice the level of centralization, bureaucratization, and absolutism remained far below that assumed by earlier historians." Wim Blockmans and Jean-Philippe Genet, general eds. quoted in Wolfgang Reinhart, ed. Power Elites and State Building (New York, 1996), vii.
12. For a sample of monographs published in English since 1990, see Helen Nader, Liberty in Absolutist Spain: The Habsburg Sale of Towns, 1516-1700 (Baltimore, 1990); Nicolas Henshall, The Myth of Absolutism: Change and Continuity in Early Modern European Monarchy (London, 1992); James B. Collins, The State in Early Modern France (Cambridge, 1995); Richard Bonney, The Limits of Absolutism in ancien régime France (Variorum, 1995); Ruth MacKay, The Limits of Royal Authority; Resistance and Obedience in Seventeenth-Century Castile (New York, 1999). Moreover, one of the principal conclusions reached in the sweeping seven-volume series that recently examined the process of European state formation from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries was that "in practice the level of centralization, bureaucratization, and absolutism remained far below that assumed by earlier historians." Wim Blockmans and Jean-Philippe Genet, general eds. quoted in Wolfgang Reinhart, ed. Power Elites and State Building (New York, 1996), vii.
13. For a sample of monographs published in English since 1990, see Helen Nader, Liberty in Absolutist Spain: The Habsburg Sale of Towns, 1516-1700 (Baltimore, 1990); Nicolas Henshall, The Myth of Absolutism: Change and Continuity in Early Modern European Monarchy (London, 1992); James B. Collins, The State in Early Modern France (Cambridge, 1995); Richard Bonney, The Limits of Absolutism in ancien régime France (Variorum, 1995); Ruth MacKay, The Limits of Royal Authority; Resistance and Obedience in Seventeenth-Century Castile (New York, 1999). Moreover, one of the principal conclusions reached in the sweeping seven-volume series that recently examined the process of European state formation from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries was that "in practice the level of centralization, bureaucratization, and absolutism remained far below that assumed by earlier historians." Wim Blockmans and Jean-Philippe Genet, general eds. quoted in Wolfgang Reinhart, ed. Power Elites and State Building (New York, 1996), vii.
14. For a sample of monographs published in English since 1990, see Helen Nader, Liberty in Absolutist Spain: The Habsburg Sale of Towns, 1516-1700 (Baltimore, 1990); Nicolas Henshall, The Myth of Absolutism: Change and Continuity in Early Modern European Monarchy (London, 1992); James B. Collins, The State in Early Modern France (Cambridge, 1995); Richard Bonney, The Limits of Absolutism in ancien régime France (Variorum, 1995); Ruth MacKay, The Limits of Royal Authority; Resistance and Obedience in Seventeenth-Century Castile (New York, 1999). Moreover, one of the principal conclusions reached in the sweeping seven-volume series that recently examined the process of European state formation from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries was that "in practice the level of centralization, bureaucratization, and absolutism remained far below that assumed by earlier historians." Wim Blockmans and Jean-Philippe Genet, general eds. quoted in Wolfgang Reinhart, ed. Power Elites and State Building (New York, 1996), vii.
15. For a sample of monographs published in English since 1990, see Helen Nader, Liberty in Absolutist Spain: The Habsburg Sale of Towns, 1516-1700 (Baltimore, 1990); Nicolas Henshall, The Myth of Absolutism: Change and Continuity in Early Modern European Monarchy (London, 1992); James B. Collins, The State in Early Modern France (Cambridge, 1995); Richard Bonney, The Limits of Absolutism in ancien régime France (Variorum, 1995); Ruth MacKay, The Limits of Royal Authority; Resistance and Obedience in Seventeenth-Century Castile (New York, 1999). Moreover, one of the principal conclusions reached in the sweeping seven-volume series that recently examined the process of European state formation from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries was that "in practice the level of centralization, bureaucratization, and absolutism remained far below that assumed by earlier historians." Wim Blockmans and Jean-Philippe Genet, general eds. quoted in Wolfgang Reinhart, ed. Power Elites and State Building (New York, 1996), vii.
16. For a sample of monographs published in English since 1990, see Helen Nader, Liberty in Absolutist Spain: The Habsburg Sale of Towns, 1516-1700 (Baltimore, 1990); Nicolas Henshall, The Myth of Absolutism: Change and Continuity in Early Modern European Monarchy (London, 1992); James B. Collins, The State in Early Modern France (Cambridge, 1995); Richard Bonney, The Limits of Absolutism in ancien régime France (Variorum, 1995); Ruth MacKay, The Limits of Royal Authority; Resistance and Obedience in Seventeenth-Century Castile (New York, 1999). Moreover, one of the principal conclusions reached in the sweeping seven-volume series that recently examined the process of European state formation from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries was that "in practice the level of centralization, bureaucratization, and absolutism remained far below that assumed by earlier historians." Wim Blockmans and Jean-Philippe Genet, general eds. quoted in Wolfgang Reinhart, ed. Power Elites and State Building (New York, 1996), vii.
17. Mexican and Spanish scholars who are critical of the ways in which historians traditionally have represented Ibero-American legal systems contend that the only way to truly know how colonial law was perceived and operated is to study how judicial institutions functioned. By focusing on process, they claim, historians can uncover the routine practices of the government as a means of assessing the often harsh government and upper-class rhetoric of the late colonial era. Arenal Fenochio, "Instituciones judiciales de la Nueva España," 12 and Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administratión de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de Mexico," 309-311 and 450-451.
18. My approach is inspired by methodologies and theoretical frameworks which assert that perceptions and opinions about the state and acceptance of its authority are to be found, in part, in the way in which government institutions operate as well as in peoples' daily experiences in their encounters with agents or representatives of the state. The social psychological literature that focuses on the subject of procedural justice furthers our understanding of the multi-faceted nature of legitimacy by emphasizing the role that legal processes, rather than legal outcomes, play in the development of attitudes toward the law and the state. Based on research in the United States and in disparate European and Asian countries, leading scholars in this field posit that culturally expected standards of proper judicial process exist in all societies and that peoples' evaluations of their legal experiences are based largely on adherence to these standards and on the types of interaction with judicial officials. Even if people express some distrust of legal institutions, they nonetheless are committed to the legal ideal of having a culturally appropriate judicial hearing. Resulting judgements about the law and judicial institutions depend not simply on the final decision of the court, but also on whether people believe they were treated fairly by the judge and other judicial officials. Moreover, this social psychological literature demonstrates that compliance with procedural judicial norms enhances commitment and loyalty to the institutions of the state. Legitimacy, then, depends in large part on the process by which court decisions have been made. An excellent synthesis of this research is in Allan E. Lind and Tom R. Tyler, The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice (New York, 1988). The works of legal scholars who stress the importance of daily encounters with the law in the formation of state power and popular politico-legal consciousness nicely complement the social psychological literature. For them, state power can be located in the everyday and intimate relationships that take place between the agents of the government, such as judicial officials, and people from across the social spectrum. Such close encounters inform us about how legal institutions and the state are experienced and therefore understood. Austin Sarat and Thomas R. Kearns, eds., The Law in Everyday Life (Ann Arbor, 1993).
19. My approach is inspired by methodologies and theoretical frameworks which assert that perceptions and opinions about the state and acceptance of its authority are to be found, in part, in the way in which government institutions operate as well as in peoples' daily experiences in their encounters with agents or representatives of the state. The social psychological literature that focuses on the subject of procedural justice furthers our understanding of the multi-faceted nature of legitimacy by emphasizing the role that legal processes, rather than legal outcomes, play in the development of attitudes toward the law and the state. Based on research in the United States and in disparate European and Asian countries, leading scholars in this field posit that culturally expected standards of proper judicial process exist in all societies and that peoples' evaluations of their legal experiences are based largely on adherence to these standards and on the types of interaction with judicial officials. Even if people express some distrust of legal institutions, they nonetheless are committed to the legal ideal of having a culturally appropriate judicial hearing. Resulting judgements about the law and judicial institutions depend not simply on the final decision of the court, but also on whether people believe they were treated fairly by the judge and other judicial officials. Moreover, this social psychological literature demonstrates that compliance with procedural judicial norms enhances commitment and loyalty to the institutions of the state. Legitimacy, then, depends in large part on the process by which court decisions have been made. An excellent synthesis of this research is in Allan E. Lind and Tom R. Tyler, The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice (New York, 1988). The works of legal scholars who stress the importance of daily encounters with the law in the formation of state power and popular politico-legal consciousness nicely complement the social psychological literature. For them, state power can be located in the everyday and intimate relationships that take place between the agents of the government, such as judicial officials, and people from across the social spectrum. Such close encounters inform us about how legal institutions and the state are experienced and therefore understood. Austin Sarat and Thomas R. Kearns, eds., The Law in Everyday Life (Ann Arbor, 1993).
20. Silvia Marina Arrom, Containing the Poor: The Mexico City Poor House, 1774-1871 (Durham, 2000), 6-7.
21. The "ordinary" or principal municipal criminal justice system in Mexico City consisted of both viceregal and city-level judicial officials. In an effort to rationalize this system, Viceroy Martín de Mayorga in 1783 divided the city into eight major administrative districts or cuarteles mayores, which were subdivided into thirty-two minor districts or cuarteles menores. High-ranking local and Iberian-bom Spaniards served as the jueces may ores or chief judges of the eight district tribunals. These district magistrates consisted of the five ministers of the Sala del Crimen (alcaldes del crimen), the two locally-elected magistrates or alcaldes ordinarios, and the provincial royal official or corregidor. The newly-created thirty-two alcaldes de barrio exercised judicial and administrative responsibilities in the minor districts. This system handled the majority of the criminal offenses in Mexico City, although there were other criminal jurisdictions in the capital in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, including, among others, the Tribunal del Alumbrado and the Juzgado de la Acordada. In addition to sources cited in note 3, see Michael C. Scardaville, "(Hapsburg) Law and (Bourbon) Order: State Authority, Popular Unrest, and the Criminal Justice System in Bourbon Mexico City," in Carlos Aguirre and Robert Buffington, eds., Reconstructing Criminality in Latin America, (Wilmington, 2000), 1-17; Woodrow Borah, Justice by Insurance: The General Indian Court of Colonial Mexico and the legal Aides of the Half-Real (Berkeley, 1983).
22. The "ordinary" or principal municipal criminal justice system in Mexico City consisted of both viceregal and city-level judicial officials. In an effort to rationalize this system, Viceroy Martín de Mayorga in 1783 divided the city into eight major administrative districts or cuarteles mayores, which were subdivided into thirty-two minor districts or cuarteles menores. High-ranking local and Iberian-bom Spaniards served as the jueces may ores or chief judges of the eight district tribunals. These district magistrates consisted of the five ministers of the Sala del Crimen (alcaldes del crimen), the two locally-elected magistrates or alcaldes ordinarios, and the provincial royal official or corregidor. The newly-created thirty-two alcaldes de barrio exercised judicial and administrative responsibilities in the minor districts. This system handled the majority of the criminal offenses in Mexico City, although there were other criminal jurisdictions in the capital in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, including, among others, the Tribunal del Alumbrado and the Juzgado de la Acordada. In addition to sources cited in note 3, see Michael C. Scardaville, "(Hapsburg) Law and (Bourbon) Order: State Authority, Popular Unrest, and the Criminal Justice System in Bourbon Mexico City," in Carlos Aguirre and Robert Buffington, eds., Reconstructing Criminality in Latin America, (Wilmington, 2000), 1-17; Woodrow Borah, Justice by Insurance: The General Indian Court of Colonial Mexico and the legal Aides of the Half-Real (Berkeley, 1983).
23. Michael C. Scardaville, "Trabajadores, grupo domistico y supervivencia durante el el periodo colonial tardmo en la Ciudad de México, o 'La familia pequeqa no vive major,' " in La Poblacisn de la Ciudad de México en 1790: Escructura social, alimentacisn y vivienda, in Manuel Miqo Grijalva, ed. (Mexico City, 2003), 209-258; Eric Van Young, The Other Rebellion: Popular Violence, Ideology, and the Mexican Struggle for Independence, 1810-1821 (Stanford, 2001), 69-75; Arrom, Containing the Poor, 6-7, 11-39.
24. Michael C. Scardaville, "Trabajadores, grupo domistico y supervivencia durante el el periodo colonial tardmo en la Ciudad de México, o 'La familia pequeqa no vive major,' " in La Poblacisn de la Ciudad de México en 1790: Escructura social, alimentacisn y vivienda, in Manuel Miqo Grijalva, ed. (Mexico City, 2003), 209-258; Eric Van Young, The Other Rebellion: Popular Violence, Ideology, and the Mexican Struggle for Independence, 1810-1821 (Stanford, 2001), 69-75; Arrom, Containing the Poor, 6-7, 11-39.
25. Michael C. Scardaville, "Trabajadores, grupo domistico y supervivencia durante el el periodo colonial tardmo en la Ciudad de México, o 'La familia pequeqa no vive major,' " in La Poblacisn de la Ciudad de México en 1790: Escructura social, alimentacisn y vivienda, in Manuel Miqo Grijalva, ed. (Mexico City, 2003), 209-258; Eric Van Young, The Other Rebellion: Popular Violence, Ideology, and the Mexican Struggle for Independence, 1810-1821 (Stanford, 2001), 69-75; Arrom, Containing the Poor, 6-7, 11-39.
26. nd ed.: Librería de J.F. Rosa, 1852), 3: nos. 4111, 4601, 4615, 5131, 5132, 5138, 5143, 5144.
27. nd ed.: Librería de J.F. Rosa, 1852), 3: nos. 4111, 4601, 4615, 5131, 5132, 5138, 5143, 5144.
28. nd ed.: Librería de J.F. Rosa, 1852), 3: nos. 4111, 4601, 4615, 5131, 5132, 5138, 5143, 5144.
29. nd ed.: Librería de J.F. Rosa, 1852), 3: nos. 4111, 4601, 4615, 5131, 5132, 5138, 5143, 5144.
30. nd ed.: Librería de J.F. Rosa, 1852), 3: nos. 4111, 4601, 4615, 5131, 5132, 5138, 5143, 5144.
31. The section of the Siete Partidas which lists royal officials in order of importance underscores the value of the scribes from the king's perspective. The notaries del Rey and the escribanos del Rey came after the capellán (roval chaplain) and the consejeros (counselors), but before the jueces del Rey (royal judges) and other judicial officers, such as the alguacil (constable), alférez (municipal standard bearer), and alcaldes (local magistrates). Partida 2, título IX, leyes 3-8, 18. For an overview of the legislation on scribes from the late thirteenth century through the reign of Ferdinand and Isabel, see, Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 36-43 and Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos públicos en Nueva España," 40-52.
32. The section of the Siete Partidas which lists royal officials in order of importance underscores the value of the scribes from the king's perspective. The notaries del Rey and the escribanos del Rey came after the capellán (roval chaplain) and the consejeros (counselors), but before the jueces del Rey (royal judges) and other judicial officers, such as the alguacil (constable), alférez (municipal standard bearer), and alcaldes (local magistrates). Partida 2, título IX, leyes 3-8, 18. For an overview of the legislation on scribes from the late thirteenth century through the reign of Ferdinand and Isabel, see, Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 36-43 and Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos públicos en Nueva España," 40-52.
33. The judge's order to commence judicial proceedings against the accused, the auto cabeza del proceso, typically authorized the scribe to conduct necessary investigations "until uncovering the truth of the incident." Since magistrates also performed time-consuming administrative duties in addition to their extensive judicial responsibilities, they generally were not present during the recording of testimonies and other court activities. As expressed in numerous royal laws dating to the late Middle Ages, many of which were ultimately codified in the seventeenth-century Recopilación de leyes de los reynos de las Indias, the purpose of the judicial investigation was to document the "cuerpo del delito" or corpus delicti as part of the pursuit to "know the truth." For instance, see Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 3: no. 4606.
34. th edition. 2 vols. (Madrid, 1984); E.N. Van Kleffens, Hispanic Law until the End of the Middle Ages (Edinburgh, 1968); María Paz Alonso Romero, El proceso penal en Castilla (siglos XIII-XVIII) (Salamanca, 1982), 159-315; María del Refugio Gonzalez, Historia del decrecho mexicano (Mexico City, 1997); James A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law (London, 1995), 92-96; Herbert Jacob, "Courts and Politics in the United States," in Herbert Jacob, Erhard Blankenburg, Herbert M. Kritzer, Doris Marie Provine, and Joseph Sanders, eds., Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective (New Haven, 1996), 16-80; Doris Marie Provine, "Courts in the Political Process in France," in Ibid., 177-248.
35. th edition. 2 vols. (Madrid, 1984); E.N. Van Kleffens, Hispanic Law until the End of the Middle Ages (Edinburgh, 1968); María Paz Alonso Romero, El proceso penal en Castilla (siglos XIII-XVIII) (Salamanca, 1982), 159-315; María del Refugio Gonzalez, Historia del decrecho mexicano (Mexico City, 1997); James A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law (London, 1995), 92-96; Herbert Jacob, "Courts and Politics in the United States," in Herbert Jacob, Erhard Blankenburg, Herbert M. Kritzer, Doris Marie Provine, and Joseph Sanders, eds., Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective (New Haven, 1996), 16-80; Doris Marie Provine, "Courts in the Political Process in France," in Ibid., 177-248.
36. th edition. 2 vols. (Madrid, 1984); E.N. Van Kleffens, Hispanic Law until the End of the Middle Ages (Edinburgh, 1968); María Paz Alonso Romero, El proceso penal en Castilla (siglos XIII-XVIII) (Salamanca, 1982), 159-315; María del Refugio Gonzalez, Historia del decrecho mexicano (Mexico City, 1997); James A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law (London, 1995), 92-96; Herbert Jacob, "Courts and Politics in the United States," in Herbert Jacob, Erhard Blankenburg, Herbert M. Kritzer, Doris Marie Provine, and Joseph Sanders, eds., Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective (New Haven, 1996), 16-80; Doris Marie Provine, "Courts in the Political Process in France," in Ibid., 177-248.
37. th edition. 2 vols. (Madrid, 1984); E.N. Van Kleffens, Hispanic Law until the End of the Middle Ages (Edinburgh, 1968); María Paz Alonso Romero, El proceso penal en Castilla (siglos XIII-XVIII) (Salamanca, 1982), 159-315; María del Refugio Gonzalez, Historia del decrecho mexicano (Mexico City, 1997); James A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law (London, 1995), 92-96; Herbert Jacob, "Courts and Politics in the United States," in Herbert Jacob, Erhard Blankenburg, Herbert M. Kritzer, Doris Marie Provine, and Joseph Sanders, eds., Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective (New Haven, 1996), 16-80; Doris Marie Provine, "Courts in the Political Process in France," in Ibid., 177-248.
38. th edition. 2 vols. (Madrid, 1984); E.N. Van Kleffens, Hispanic Law until the End of the Middle Ages (Edinburgh, 1968); María Paz Alonso Romero, El proceso penal en Castilla (siglos XIII-XVIII) (Salamanca, 1982), 159-315; María del Refugio Gonzalez, Historia del decrecho mexicano (Mexico City, 1997); James A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law (London, 1995), 92-96; Herbert Jacob, "Courts and Politics in the United States," in Herbert Jacob, Erhard Blankenburg, Herbert M. Kritzer, Doris Marie Provine, and Joseph Sanders, eds., Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective (New Haven, 1996), 16-80; Doris Marie Provine, "Courts in the Political Process in France," in Ibid., 177-248.
39. th edition. 2 vols. (Madrid, 1984); E.N. Van Kleffens, Hispanic Law until the End of the Middle Ages (Edinburgh, 1968); María Paz Alonso Romero, El proceso penal en Castilla (siglos XIII-XVIII) (Salamanca, 1982), 159-315; María del Refugio Gonzalez, Historia del decrecho mexicano (Mexico City, 1997); James A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law (London, 1995), 92-96; Herbert Jacob, "Courts and Politics in the United States," in Herbert Jacob, Erhard Blankenburg, Herbert M. Kritzer, Doris Marie Provine, and Joseph Sanders, eds., Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective (New Haven, 1996), 16-80; Doris Marie Provine, "Courts in the Political Process in France," in Ibid., 177-248.
40. th edition. 2 vols. (Madrid, 1984); E.N. Van Kleffens, Hispanic Law until the End of the Middle Ages (Edinburgh, 1968); María Paz Alonso Romero, El proceso penal en Castilla (siglos XIII-XVIII) (Salamanca, 1982), 159-315; María del Refugio Gonzalez, Historia del decrecho mexicano (Mexico City, 1997); James A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law (London, 1995), 92-96; Herbert Jacob, "Courts and Politics in the United States," in Herbert Jacob, Erhard Blankenburg, Herbert M. Kritzer, Doris Marie Provine, and Joseph Sanders, eds., Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective (New Haven, 1996), 16-80; Doris Marie Provine, "Courts in the Political Process in France," in Ibid., 177-248.
41. th edition. 2 vols. (Madrid, 1984); E.N. Van Kleffens, Hispanic Law until the End of the Middle Ages (Edinburgh, 1968); María Paz Alonso Romero, El proceso penal en Castilla (siglos XIII-XVIII) (Salamanca, 1982), 159-315; María del Refugio Gonzalez, Historia del decrecho mexicano (Mexico City, 1997); James A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law (London, 1995), 92-96; Herbert Jacob, "Courts and Politics in the United States," in Herbert Jacob, Erhard Blankenburg, Herbert M. Kritzer, Doris Marie Provine, and Joseph Sanders, eds., Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective (New Haven, 1996), 16-80; Doris Marie Provine, "Courts in the Political Process in France," in Ibid., 177-248.
42. th ed. (Madrid, 1983); Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 60-61, 92-96, 111-112, 120-153, 188-189.
43. th ed. (Madrid, 1983); Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 60-61, 92-96, 111-112, 120-153, 188-189.
44. th ed. (Madrid, 1983); Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 60-61, 92-96, 111-112, 120-153, 188-189.
45. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 2: no. 4606. The king's sentiments were echoed in Mexico City, Francisco Arcipreste, one of the city's lay magistrates, noted in 1809 that the legality of the judicial process and the lawfulness of the judges' sentences depended on the presence and performance of the escribanos, AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exp. 4, no folios. In a letter to the viceroy written in the same year, the governing board of the Real Colegio de Escribanos described the scribes as judicial officials "in whom rests the authority of the Lord Judges and the depositaries of the public faith." Ibid., exp. 3, no folios. The Iberian legal tradition, as well as the predilection of Bourbon policymakers, tended to privilege scribes rather than lawyers in the criminal justice system. Professional lawyers (letrodos) did not play a major role in the administration of criminal justice, largely since standard judicial procedure called for their participation only towards the later, or pienario, phase part of a criminal case. Nonetheless, they were active in civil litigation and were employed in a variety of royal agencies in Mexico City, especially in the Audiencia, the highest-ranking court in New Spain.
46. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 1: no. 4606. The king's sentiments were echoed in Mexico City, Francisco Arcipreste, one of the city's lay magistrates, noted in 1809 that the legality of the judicial process and the lawfulness of the judges' sentences depended on the presence and performance of the escribanos, AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exp. 4, no folios. In a letter to the viceroy written in the same year, the governing board of the Real Colegio de Escribanos described the scribes as judicial officials "in whom rests the authority of the Lord Judges and the depositaries of the public faith." Ibid., exp. 3, no folios. The Iberian legal tradition, as well as the predilection of Bourbon policymakers, tended to privilege scribes rather than lawyers in the criminal justice system. Professional lawyers (letrodos) did not play a major role in the administration of criminal justice, largely since standard judicial procedure called for their participation only towards the later, or pienario, phase part of a criminal case. Nonetheless, they were active in civil litigation and were employed in a variety of royal agencies in Mexico City, especially in the Audiencia, the highest-ranking court in New Spain.
47. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 1: no. 4606. The king's sentiments were echoed in Mexico City, Francisco Arcipreste, one of the city's lay magistrates, noted in 1809 that the legality of the judicial process and the lawfulness of the judges' sentences depended on the presence and performance of the escribanos, AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exp. 4, no folios. In a letter to the viceroy written in the same year, the governing board of the Real Colegio de Escribanos described the scribes as judicial officials "in whom rests the authority of the Lord Judges and the depositaries of the public faith." Ibid., exp. 3, no folios. The Iberian legal tradition, as well as the predilection of Bourbon policymakers, tended to privilege scribes rather than lawyers in the criminal justice system. Professional lawyers (letrodos) did not play a major role in the administration of criminal justice, largely since standard judicial procedure called for their participation only towards the later, or pienario, phase part of a criminal case. Nonetheless, they were active in civil litigation and were employed in a variety of royal agencies in Mexico City, especially in the Audiencia, the highest-ranking court in New Spain.
48. For a list of all the royal escribanos in New Spain in 1794, see AGN, Bandos, vol. 17, exp. 66, f. 302. In spite of the relative scarcity of formally trained and titled scribes outside of Mexico City, judicial actions in all criminal and civil cases nevertheless required legal validation. Recognizing the shortage of these key officers in the provincial courts, the Spanish crown authorized in 1588 two methods of properly witnessing and recording judicial actions. Local royal officials could either appoint an interim scribe, someone with the requisite literacy skills, or solicit two honorable members of the community to act as witnesses to any judicial proceeding. Woodrow Borah, "Los auxiliares del gobernador provincial," in Woodrow Borah, ed., El gobiemo provincial en la Nueva España, 1570-1787 (Mexico City, 1985), 50-51 and 60-61; María del Refugio González and Teresa Lozano. "La administración de justicia," in Ibid., 96-105; Jorge Corvalán Meléndez and Vicente Castillo Fernández, Derecho Procesal Indiano (Santiago, 1951), 81, 196, 208.
49. For a list of all the royal escribanos in New Spain in 1794, see AGN, Bandos, vol. 17. exp. 66, f. 302. In spite of the relative scarcity of formally trained and titled scribes outside of Mexico City, judicial actions in all criminal and civil cases nevertheless required legal validation. Recognizing the shortage of these key officers in the provincial courts, the Spanish crown authorized in 1588 two methods of properly witnessing and recording judicial actions. Local royal officials could either appoint an interim scribe, someone with the requisite literacy skills, or solicit two honorable members of the community to act as witnesses to any judicial proceeding. Woodrow Borah, "Los auxiliares del gobernador provincial," in Woodrow Borah, ed., El gobiemo provincial en la Nueva España, 1570-1787 (Mexico City, 1985), 50-51 and 60-61; María del Refugio González and Teresa Lozano. "La administración de justicia," in Ibid., 96-105; Jorge Corvalán Meléndez and Vicente Castillo Fernández, Derecho Procesal Indiano (Santiago, 1951), 81, 196, 208.
50. For a list of all the royal escribanos in New Spain in 1794, see AGN, Bandos, vol. 17. exp. 66, f. 302. In spite of the relative scarcity of formally trained and titled scribes outside of Mexico City, judicial actions in all criminal and civil cases nevertheless required legal validation. Recognizing the shortage of these key officers in the provincial courts, the Spanish crown authorized in 1588 two methods of properly witnessing and recording judicial actions. Local royal officials could either appoint an interim scribe, someone with the requisite literacy skills, or solicit two honorable members of the community to act as witnesses to any judicial proceeding. Woodrow Borah, "Los auxiliares del gobernador provincial," in Woodrow Borah, ed., El gobiemo provincial en la Nueva España, 1570-1787 (Mexico City, 1985), 50-51 and 60-61; María del Refugio González and Teresa Lozano. "La administración de justicia," in Ibid., 96-105; Jorge Corvalán Meléndez and Vicente Castillo Fernández, Derecho Procesal Indiano (Santiago, 1951), 81, 196, 208.
51. For a list of all the royal escribanos in New Spain in 1794, see AGN, Bandos, vol. 17. exp. 66, f. 302. In spite of the relative scarcity of formally trained and titled scribes outside of Mexico City, judicial actions in all criminal and civil cases nevertheless required legal validation. Recognizing the shortage of these key officers in the provincial courts, the Spanish crown authorized in 1588 two methods of properly witnessing and recording judicial actions. Local royal officials could either appoint an interim scribe, someone with the requisite literacy skills, or solicit two honorable members of the community to act as witnesses to any judicial proceeding. Woodrow Borah, "Los auxiliares del gobernador provincial," in Woodrow Borah, ed., El gobiemo provincial en la Nueva España, 1570-1787 (Mexico City, 1985), 50-51 and 60-61; María del Refugio González and Teresa Lozano. "La administración de justicia," in Ibid., 96-105; Jorge
52. AGN, Bandos, vol. 17, exp. 3, fols. 28-36; AGN, Escribanos, vol. 22, exps. 7 and 8; Charles R. Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 1800-1810 (Albuquerque, 1995), 77; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 42, 80; Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 3: no. 4049; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos ptiblicos en Nueva España," 55-57; Fernãndez del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 49.
53. AGN, Bandos, vol. 17, exp. 3, fols. 28-36; AGN, Escribanos, vol. 22, exps. 7 and 8; Charles R. Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 1800-1810 (Albuquerque, 1995), 77; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 42, 80; Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 3: no. 4049; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos ptiblicos en Nueva España," 55-57; Fernãndez del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 49.
54. AGN, Bandos, vol. 17, exp. 3, fols. 28-36; AGN, Escribanos, vol. 22, exps. 7 and 8; Charles R. Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 1800-1810 (Albuquerque, 1995), 77; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 42, 80; Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 3: no. 4049; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos ptiblicos en Nueva España," 55-57; Fernãndez del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 49.
55. AGN, Bandos, vol. 17, exp. 3, fols. 28-36; AGN, Escribanos, vol. 22, exps. 7 and 8; Charles R. Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 1800-1810 (Albuquerque, 1995), 77; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 42, 80; Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 3: no. 4049; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos ptiblicos en Nueva España," 55-57; Fernãndez del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 49.
56. AGN, Bandos, vol. 17, exp. 3, fols. 28-36; AGN, Escribanos, vol. 22, exps. 7 and 8; Charles R. Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 1800-1810 (Albuquerque, 1995), 77; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 42, 80; Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 3: no. 4049; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos ptiblicos en Nueva España," 55-57; Fernãndez del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 49.
57. AGN, Bandos, vol. 17, exp. 3, fols. 28-36; AGN, Escribanos, vol. 22, exps. 7 and 8; Charles R. Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 1800-1810 (Albuquerque, 1995), 77; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 42, 80; Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 3: no. 4049; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos ptiblicos en Nueva España," 55-57; Fernãndez del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 49.
58. AGN, Bandos, vol. 17, exp. 3, fols. 28-36; AGN, Escribanos, vol. 22, exps. 7 and 8; Charles R. Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 1800-1810 (Albuquerque, 1995), 77; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 42, 80; Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 3: no. 4049; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos ptiblicos en Nueva España," 55-57; Fernãndez del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 49.
59. In the organizational scheme of the viceregal agencies, escribanos were assigned to the legal offices (asesoríos) since they were expected to prepare, not merely copy documents on various administrative and legal issues. Linda Arnold, Bureaucracy and Bureaucrats in Mexico City, 1742-1835 (Tucson, 1988), 25-26. See Mijares Ramírez for a discussion of the scribe's professional judicial stature in the early colonial period. Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 45.
60. In the organizational scheme of the viceregal agencies, escribanos were assigned to the legal offices (asesoríos) since they were expected to prepare, not merely copy documents on various administrative and legal issues. Linda Arnold, Bureaucracy and Bureaucrats in Mexico City, 1742-1835 (Tucson, 1988), 25-26. See Mijares Ramírez for a discussion of the scribe's professional judicial stature in the early colonial period. Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 45.
61. In a larger sense, the scarcity of scribes was part of a broader pattern since all levels in the colonial bureaucracy experienced a shortage of personnel in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Institutions at the viceregal level were understaffed in the late colonial period, even though Bourbon administrative activism increased governmental responsibilities. Arnold, Bureaucracy and Bureaucrats in Mexico City, 24-47.
62. A fully staffed criminal justice system Mexico City, as stipulated in the Ordinance which authorized its expansion, required scribes for each of the eight judges (jueces mayores) and the thirty-two alcaldes de barrio. Yet of the seventy-five escribanos reales who practiced in the capital in the mid-1790s, almost three-quarters already held a salaried position in one of the viceregal agencies or in municipal government. In principle, the royal scribes who were most readily available to be assigned to a judicial official were those who did not hold any remunerative institutional affiliation, but there were only twenty-one of these escribanos reales, about one-half of the requisite number. AGN, Bandos, vol. 17, exp. 66, fol. 302.
63. See Article 7 in the "Ordenanzass de la división de México en Quarteks, creación de Alcaldes de Barrio, y reglas de su gobierno, con una mapa de la ciudad," AGN, Bandos, vol. 12, fols. 101-124. The viceroy appointed deputy scribes from a list submitted by the eight magistrates of the newly-created courts. Escribanos habilitados were invested with authority to participate solely in criminal proceedings. Because of the complexities of civil law, as well as the monopoly that certain royal scribes held over this branch of the law, the 1782 Ordinance explicitly excluded deputy scribes from participating in civil litigation and notarial transactions.
64. Assignment to more than one cuartel menor was so common that the printed appointment form used the plural form ("menores") for the minor districts. See, for instance, the documents submitted by Mariano Espinosa in his 1795 petition, AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 7. It appears, however, that the viceroy commissioned first-time deputy scribes to assist in only one of the minor districts. They would be assigned to additional districts after acquiring several years of experience.
65. The most common patterns in multiple district appointment, as seen in the career paths of Juan Vargas and Ignacio Ramírez de Arellano, was to assist two to four of the alcaldes de barrio or, as in the case of Julián Roldán, work an institutional scribe in the Sala del Crimen and serve at least one of the local police officials. AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exps. 3 and 4. For additional examples of viceregal appointments of escribanos habilitados, see AGN, Ayuntamientos, vol. 211, exp. 9 and AGN, Escribanos, vol. 21, exp. 57.
66. The most common patterns in multiple district appointment, as seen in the career paths of Juan Vargas and Ignacio Ramírez de Arellano, was to assist two to four of the alcaldes de barrio or, as in the case of Julián Roldán, work an institutional scribe in the Sala del Crimen and serve at least one of the local police officials. AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exps. 3 and 4. For additional examples of viceregal appointments of escribanos habilitados, see AGN, Ayuntamientos, vol. 211, exp. 9 and AGN, Escribanos, vol. 21, exp. 57.
67. The most common patterns in multiple district appointment, as seen in the career paths of Juan Vargas and Ignacio Ramírez de Arellano, was to assist two to four of the alcaldes de barrio or, as in the case of Julián Roldán, work an institutional scribe in the Sala del Crimen and serve at least one of the local police officials. AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exps. 3 and 4. For additional examples of viceregal appointments of escribanos habilitados, see AGN, Ayuntamientos, vol. 211, exp. 9 and AGN, Escribanos, vol. 21, exp. 57.
68. As Chandler and Burkholder note, the Spanish crown successfully reduced creole participation in high-ranking Audienda positions by the end the eighteenth century, yet as this examination of scribes in Mexico City illustrates, locally-born Spaniards comprised the majority of these low-level court officials. The expanded criminal justice system and the importance of the scribes in this system gave creoles an opportunity to actively participate and shape local and viceregal judicial institutions. I would not go as far as to suggest that the expanded judiciary enabled creoles to resist peninsular takeover of royal government in late colonial period, but I believe it would be safe to say that it gave a heretofore unrecognized voice to some moderately educated, middle-class creoles at time of peninsular appropriation of government institutions, D.S. Chandler and Mark A. Burkholder, From Impotence to Authority : The Spanish Crown and the American Audiencias, 1687-1808 (Columbia, 1977). I wish to thank Linda Arnold for providing me with personal information on the scribes from her unpublished collection of biographical data of late colonial royal bureaucrats who served in Mexico City.
69. There was a long tradition in the Iberian world of providing practical manuals and guides for scribes and lay magistrates. These legal texts and formularies, which spelled out judicial procedure and discussed matters of criminal and civil law in a simple manner, were available in cities and larger provincial communities in New Spain in the eighteenth century. Examples of such materials include Formulario de causas criminales (Mexico City, 1751), Libra de los principales rudimentos tocante a todos juicios, criminal, civil y executivo. (Mexico City, 1764), and the two volume work by Joseph Juan y Colón, Instructión de Escribanos en Orden a la Judicial (Madrid, 1787), the second volume of which focused on "juridical instructions" to scribes, lawyers, and magistrates of the lower courts. Susana García León, ed., "Un formulario de causas criminales de la Nueva España," Anuario Mexicano de Historia del Derecho 9 (1997): 83-148; Charles R. Cutter, ed., Libro de los principales rudimentos (Mexico City, 1994).
70. There was a long tradition in the Iberian world of providing practical manuals and guides for scribes and lay magistrates. These legal texts and formularies, which spelled out judicial procedure and discussed matters of criminal and civil law in a simple manner, were available in cities and larger provincial communities in New Spain in the eighteenth century. Examples of such materials include Formulario de causas criminales (Mexico City, 1751), Libra de los principales rudimentos tocante a todos juicios, criminal, civil y executivo. (Mexico City, 1764), and the two volume work by Joseph Juan y Colón, Instructión de Escribanos en Orden a la Judicial (Madrid, 1787), the second volume of which focused on "juridical instructions" to scribes, lawyers, and magistrates of the lower courts. Susana García León, ed., "Un formulario de causas criminales de la Nueva España," Anuario Mexicano de Historia del Derecho 9 (1997): 83-148; Charles R. Cutter, ed., Libro de los principales rudimentos (Mexico City, 1994).
71. There was a long tradition in the Iberian world of providing practical manuals and guides for scribes and lay magistrates. These legal texts and formularies, which spelled out judicial procedure and discussed matters of criminal and civil law in a simple manner, were available in cities and larger provincial communities in New Spain in the eighteenth century. Examples of such materials include Formulario de causas criminales (Mexico City, 1751), Libra de los principales rudimentos tocante a todos juicios, criminal, civil y executivo. (Mexico City, 1764), and the two volume work by Joseph Juan y Colón, Instructión de Escribanos en Orden a la Judicial (Madrid, 1787), the second volume of which focused on "juridical instructions" to scribes, lawyers, and magistrates of the lower courts. Susana García León, ed., "Un formulario de causas criminales de la Nueva España," Anuario Mexicano de Historia del Derecho 9 (1997): 83-148; Charles R. Cutter, ed., Libro de los principales rudimentos (Mexico City, 1994).
72. There was a long tradition in the Iberian world of providing practical manuals and guides for scribes and lay magistrates. These legal texts and formularies, which spelled out judicial procedure and discussed matters of criminal and civil law in a simple manner, were available in cities and larger provincial communities in New Spain in the eighteenth century. Examples of such materials include Formulario de causas criminales (Mexico City, 1751), Libra de los principales rudimentos tocante a todos juicios, criminal, civil y executivo. (Mexico City, 1764), and the two volume work by Joseph Juan y Colón, Instructión de Escribanos en Orden a la Judicial (Madrid, 1787), the second volume of which focused on "juridical instructions" to scribes, lawyers, and magistrates of the lower courts. Susana García León, ed., "Un formulario de causas criminales de la Nueva España," Anuario Mexicano de Historia del Derecho 9 (1997): 83-148; Charles R. Cutter, ed., Libro de los principales rudimentos (Mexico City, 1994).
73. There was a long tradition in the Iberian world of providing practical manuals and guides for scribes and lay magistrates. These legal texts and formularies, which spelled out judicial procedure and discussed matters of criminal and civil law in a simple manner, were available in cities and larger provincial communities in New Spain in the eighteenth century. Examples of such materials include Formulario de causas criminales (Mexico City, 1751), Libra de los principales rudimentos tocante a todos juicios, criminal, civil y executivo. (Mexico City, 1764), and the two volume work by Joseph Juan y Colón, Instructión de Escribanos en Orden a la Judicial (Madrid, 1787), the second volume of which focused on "juridical instructions" to scribes, lawyers, and magistrates of the lower courts. Susana García León, ed., "Un formulario de causas criminales de la Nueva España," Anuario Mexicano de Historia del Derecho 9 (1997): 83-148; Charles R. Cutter, ed., Libro de los principales rudimentos (Mexico City, 1994).
74. Espinosa, for instance, ultimately worked as a scribe in Mexico City for over three decades (1788-1820). Among the many escribanos who served local judicial officials for extended periods of time are Rafael Cartami (1787-1828), Mariano Urueña (1803-1820), and Rafael Castro (1797-1814). AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 7; AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exps. 3 and 4; Linda Arnold, Directorio de burócratas en la ciudad de México, 1761-1832 (Mexico City, 1980), 39, 63, 89, 277-278.
75. Espinosa, for instance, ultimately worked as a scribe in Mexico City for over three decades (1788-1820). Among the many escribanos who served local judicial officials for extended periods of time are Rafael Cartami (1787-1828), Mariano Urueña (1803-1820), and Rafael Castro (1797-1814). AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 7; AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exps. 3 and 4; Linda Arnold, Directorio de burócratas en la ciudad de México, 1761-1832 (Mexico City, 1980), 39, 63, 89, 277-278.
76. Espinosa, for instance, ultimately worked as a scribe in Mexico City for over three decades (1788-1820). Among the many escribanos who served local judicial officials for extended periods of time are Rafael Cartami (1787-1828), Mariano Urueña (1803-1820), and Rafael Castro (1797-1814). AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 7; AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exps. 3 and 4; Linda Arnold, Directorio de burócratas en la ciudad de México, 1761-1832 (Mexico City, 1980), 39, 63, 89, 277-278.
77. The magistrate offered these positive assessments as part of an 1809 investigation into the alleged abuses in the appointment of escribanos habilitados. The inquiry commenced when the senior local magistrate, Francisco Arcipreste, contended that an unspecified number of the deputy scribes did not have what he deemed to be proper titles of appointment. He expressed concern that some of these escribanos might have exercised their duties even though they were never issued formal printed titles of their appointment, that sometimes more than one had been appointed to serve in the same district, and finally that some also may have continued to serve after their term had expired. Arcipreste persuaded Viceroy Francisco Javier de Lizana y Beaumont that it was time to investigate and remedy these alleged abuses as well as explore the possibility of using only formally trained escribanos reales in all the minor districts of the capital. The Viceroy ordered the jueces mayores to review the status, appointments, and, additionally, the personal and professional conduct of the deputy scribes. The resulting investigations uncovered only one improper title of appointment, and they did not expose any inappropriate or unsatisfactory conduct of the escribanos habilitados. All but one of the magistrates, the senior lay city magistrate who lodged the complaint, praised the quality or their work in spite of their many duties and overall workload. Although Arcipreste presented no proof of unsatisfactory professional conduct on the part of any deputy scribe in his jurisdiction, which he surely would have done if it had been existed, he nonetheless conjectured that scribes trained in the Real Colegio de Escribanos would have performed better. It is important to note that the sole dissenting judge was not a letrado while those magistrates who uniformly and enthusiastically commended their deputy scribes, the alcaldes del crimen, were professionally-trained jurists. In an effort to protect and promote the prerogatives of their institution and its personnel, the board members of the Real Colegio de Escribanos nonetheless asked Viceroy Lizana to annul the appointments of the deputy scribes, most of whom, they asserted, were of questionable quality and character, and appoint instead escribanos reales who had been educated at the Colegio and examined by the Audiencia. However, the governing board, like alcalde Arcipreste, was not able to specify abuses on the part of any specific escribono habilitado, either presently or since they were initially used in the early 1780s. The board members resorted to generalities and character assassination of the deputy scribes, claiming at one point that half of them, as a result of their "vices and bad conduct," "had prostituted themselves." The general tenor of the board's comments reflected frustration that viceregal and local officials did not adhere to the standard procedure for the appointment of royal scribes and relied instead on a clause in the 1782 Ordinance that allowed the viceroy to by-pass the Colegio and the Audiencia and deputized individuals who had been recommended by the city's magistrates. AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exps. 3 and 4.
78. The three municipal-level magistrates, the two alcaldes ordinaries and the corregidor, did not possess any formal legal education and therefore, as required by law, were assisted by a legal advisor (asesor letrado), a lawyer or jurist who reviewed and approved all court sentences and other major judicial orders issued by the lay judges. See, for instance, Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal, Mexico City (hereafter AJT), Penal, vol. 6, exp. 47; Borah, Justice by Insurance, 96-97. The unremunerated position of alcalde de barrio was filled with private citizens, mainly petty proprietors, the magistrates nominated and the viceroy appointed because of their local standing and reputation, not because of any professional expertise. In accordance with Spanish political philosophy and legal texts, appointment or election to judicial posts depended more on character, integrity, and judgement than on command of juridical knowledge. See Partida 3, título IV, ley 3 of the Siete Partidas; Ricardo Zorraquín Becú, La, función de justicia en el derecho indiano (Buenos Aires, 1948), 31-33. See note 33 for comments about citing materials in the AJT.
79. The three municipal-level magistrates, the two alcaldes ordinaries and the corregidor, did not possess any formal legal education and therefore, as required by law, were assisted by a legal advisor (asesor letrado), a lawyer or jurist who reviewed and approved all court sentences and other major judicial orders issued by the lay judges. See, for instance, Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal, Mexico City (hereafter AJT), Penal, vol. 6, exp. 47; Borah, Justice by Insurance, 96-97. The unremunerated position of alcalde de barrio was filled with private citizens, mainly petty proprietors, the magistrates nominated and the viceroy appointed because of their local standing and reputation, not because of any professional expertise. In accordance with Spanish political philosophy and legal texts, appointment or election to judicial posts depended more on character, integrity, and judgement than on command of juridical knowledge. See Partida 3, título IV, ley 3 of the Siete Partidas; Ricardo Zorraquín Becú, La, función de justicia en el derecho indiano (Buenos Aires, 1948), 31-33. See note 33 for comments about citing materials in the AJT.
80. The three municipal-level magistrates, the two alcaldes ordinaries and the corregidor, did not possess any formal legal education and therefore, as required by law, were assisted by a legal advisor (asesor letrado), a lawyer or jurist who reviewed and approved all court sentences and other major judicial orders issued by the lay judges. See, for instance, Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal, Mexico City (hereafter AJT), Penal, vol. 6, exp. 47; Borah, Justice by Insurance, 96-97. The unremunerated position of alcalde de barrio was filled with private citizens, mainly petty proprietors, the magistrates nominated and the viceroy appointed because of their local standing and reputation, not because of any professional expertise. In accordance with Spanish political philosophy and legal texts, appointment or election to judicial posts depended more on character, integrity, and judgement than on command of juridical knowledge. See Partida 3, título IV, ley 3 of the Siete Partidas; Ricardo Zorraquín Becú, La, función de justicia en el derecho indiano (Buenos Aires, 1948), 31-33. See note 33 for comments about citing materials in the AJT.
81. For instance, the alcaldes de barrios, who, as jueces originarios, had the limited authority to instigate criminal proceedings before turning the case over to their juez mayor for final sentencing, did not enjoy the services of an asesor letrado and therefore had to rely extensively on their scribe's knowledge of the penal process. For an example, see AJT, Penal, vol. 9, exp. 5. Through their advice to the lay magistrates and the alcaldes de barrio on points of substantive and procedural law, the escribanos made colonial law more understandable and made certain that the judicial officials adhered to procedural norms and processes.
82. The alcaldes de barrio and the alcaldes ordinaries typically served for a two-year period. Periodically, moreover, the senior alcalde ordinario jointly held the position of corregidor, which meant that he was the juez mayor of the tribunals of the sixth and seventh major districts as well as the magistrate of the very active Tribunal del Alumbrado, the court of the street lighting guards. AGN, Ayuntamientos, vol. 177, exp. 9. Also see Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 19.
83. The alcaldes de barrio and the alcaldes ordinaries typically served for a two-year period. Periodically, moreover, the senior alcalde ordinario jointly held the position of corregidor, which meant that he was the juez mayor of the tribunals of the sixth and seventh major districts as well as the magistrate of the very active Tribunal del Alumbrado, the court of the street lighting guards. AGN, Ayuntamientos, vol. 177, exp. 9. Also see Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 19.
84. The viceroy appointed the escribanos for a period of two years, although they generally were re-appointed if they had performed satisfactorily. See AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 5.
85. The legal expertise of escribanos who worked for one of the five alcaldes del crimen, all of whom were highly-educated jurists, was obviously not as critical as it was for the three lay magistrates and the alcaldes de barrio. For the advisory role that scribes performed in early colonial Mexico City and elsewhere in Spanish colonial America, see Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 46; Jorge Luján Muñoz, Los escribanos en las Indias Occidentales, y en particular en el Reino de Guatemala (Guatemala, 1977), 71-72; Tamar Herzog, Mediación, archivas y ejercicio: Los escribanos de Quito (siglo XVII) (Frankfurt am Main, 1996), 29-32.
86. The legal expertise of escribanos who worked for one of the five alcaldes del crimen, all of whom were highly-educated jurists, was obviously not as critical as it was for the three lay magistrates and the alcaldes de barrio. For the advisory role that scribes performed in early colonial Mexico City and elsewhere in Spanish colonial America, see Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 46; Jorge Luján Muñoz, Los escribanos en las Indias Occidentales, y en particular en el Reino de Guatemala (Guatemala, 1977), 71-72; Tamar Herzog, Mediación, archivas y ejercicio: Los escribanos de Quito (siglo XVII) (Frankfurt am Main, 1996), 29-32.
87. The legal expertise of escribanos who worked for one of the five alcaldes del crimen, all of whom were highly-educated jurists, was obviously not as critical as it was for the three lay magistrates and the alcaldes de barrio. For the advisory role that scribes performed in early colonial Mexico City and elsewhere in Spanish colonial America, see Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 46; Jorge Luján Muñoz, Los escribanos en las Indias Occidentales, y en particular en el Reino de Guatemala (Guatemala, 1977), 71-72; Tamar Herzog, Mediación, archivas y ejercicio: Los escribanos de Quito (siglo XVII) (Frankfurt am Main, 1996), 29-32.
88. In descending order of occurrence, the most frequent criminal charges involved drink-related offenses, common-law marriage/adultery, theft, sexual misconduct, assault, and illegal gambling. More than nine of ten arrests involved members of the working poor and involved a cross-section of this group in terms of ethnicity, although Indians (38%), males (74%), and artisans (50%) were over-represented in the court cases. We should not disregard the fact that women and lower-class creoles respectively comprised 26% and 41% of the arrests. Michael C. Scardaville, "Crime and the Urban Poor: Mexico City in the Late Colonial Period" (Ph.D. diss. Gainesville, 1977), 34-47. Of the criminal cases analyzed, 7,067 came from ten extant arrest and court inventories (Libres de reos) formerly located in two municipal judicial archives in Mexico City, the Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal and the Archivo General del Juzgado, Mexico City (hereafter AGJ). Since I first consulted the documents in the AGJ, however, the historical records were misplaced during a renovation of the building. The pre-1950 documents of the AJT were recently moved to the Mexican national archives, the Archivo General de la Nación, but are still being catalogued. Since these materials have not yet been completely indexed, I continue to cite them in accordance with their former provenance. The remaining 296 cases analyzed for this essay consisted of full-length, formal criminal cases (causas criminates) located in the collection of the Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior and in the Ramo Criminal in the Archivo General de la Nación. For an excellent discussion of the Libras de reos, including comments on the missing police and court inventories of the AGJ, see Sanchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de Mexico," 316-332. Many historians and nineteenth-century critics of Spanish colonial justice have based much of their censure of the criminal justice system in Mexico City, particularly its alleged abusive, arbitrary, and corrupt nature, on the commentaries of the late eighteenth-century observer, Hipólito Villarroel, not on a comprehensive and systematic examination of the case files. Moreover, a careful reading or Villaroel's criticism of the judicial system illustrates that his charges are levied primarily at the operation of the civil, not criminal, court procedure and that his denunciation of the escribanos has little basis in the case file evidence. México por dentro y fuera bajo el gobiemo de los vireyes, o sea enfermedades políricas que padece la capital de esta Nueva España en casi todo los cuerpos de que se comporte y remedios que se le deben aplicar para su curación si se quiere que sea útil alreyy al público (Mexico City, 1831), 36-40, 46-50. For a discussion or how his accusations shaped later perceptions of criminal justice in the Bourbon colonial Mexico City, see Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico, 15-17, 21, 25. Woodrow Borah's brief biographical study of Villarroel suggests that his indictment of the colonial legal system should be used with considerable caution. "Alguna luz sobre el autor de las Enfermedades políticas," Estudios de Historia Novohispana 8 (1985): 51-79.
89. In descending order of occurrence, the most frequent criminal charges involved drink-related offenses, common-law marriage/adultery, theft, sexual misconduct, assault, and illegal gambling. More than nine of ten arrests involved members of the working poor and involved a cross-section of this group in terms of ethnicity, although Indians (38%), males (74%), and artisans (50%) were over-represented in the court cases. We should not disregard the fact that women and lower-class creoles respectively comprised 26% and 41% of the arrests. Michael C. Scardaville, "Crime and the Urban Poor: Mexico City in the Late Colonial Period" (Ph.D. diss. Gainesville, 1977), 34-47. Of the criminal cases analyzed, 7,067 came from ten extant arrest and court inventories (Libres de reos) formerly located in two municipal judicial archives in Mexico City, the Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal and the Archivo General del Juzgado, Mexico City (hereafter AGJ). Since I first consulted the documents in the AGJ, however, the historical records were misplaced during a renovation of the building. The pre-1950 documents of the AJT were recently moved to the Mexican national archives, the Archivo General de la Nación, but are still being catalogued. Since these materials have not yet been completely indexed, I continue to cite them in accordance with their former provenance. The remaining 296 cases analyzed for this essay consisted of full-length, formal criminal cases (causas criminates) located in the collection of the Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior and in the Ramo Criminal in the Archivo General de la Nación. For an excellent discussion of the Libras de reos, including comments on the missing police and court inventories of the AGJ, see Sanchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de Mexico," 316-332. Many historians and nineteenth-century critics of Spanish colonial justice have based much of their censure of the criminal justice system in Mexico City, particularly its alleged abusive, arbitrary, and corrupt nature, on the commentaries of the late eighteenth-century observer, Hipólito Villarroel, not on a comprehensive and systematic examination of the case files. Moreover, a careful reading or Villaroel's criticism of the judicial system illustrates that his charges are levied primarily at the operation of the civil, not criminal, court procedure and that his denunciation of the escribanos has little basis in the case file evidence. México por dentro y fuera bajo el gobiemo de los vireyes, o sea enfermedades políricas que padece la capital de esta Nueva España en casi todo los cuerpos de que se comporte y remedios que se le deben aplicar para su curación si se quiere que sea útil alreyy al público (Mexico City, 1831), 36-40, 46-50. For a discussion or how his accusations shaped later perceptions of criminal justice in the Bourbon colonial Mexico City, see Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico, 15-17, 21, 25. Woodrow Borah's brief biographical study of Villarroel suggests that his indictment of the colonial legal system should be used with considerable caution. "Alguna luz sobre el autor de las Enfermedades políticas," Estudios de Historia Novohispana 8 (1985): 51-79.
90. In descending order of occurrence, the most frequent criminal charges involved drink-related offenses, common-law marriage/adultery, theft, sexual misconduct, assault, and illegal gambling. More than nine of ten arrests involved members of the working poor and involved a cross-section of this group in terms of ethnicity, although Indians (38%), males (74%), and artisans (50%) were over-represented in the court cases. We should not disregard the fact that women and lower-class creoles respectively comprised 26% and 41% of the arrests. Michael C. Scardaville, "Crime and the Urban Poor: Mexico City in the Late Colonial Period" (Ph.D. diss. Gainesville, 1977), 34-47. Of the criminal cases analyzed, 7,067 came from ten extant arrest and court inventories (Libres de reos) formerly located in two municipal judicial archives in Mexico City, the Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal and the Archivo General del Juzgado, Mexico City (hereafter AGJ). Since I first consulted the documents in the AGJ, however, the historical records were misplaced during a renovation of the building. The pre-1950 documents of the AJT were recently moved to the Mexican national archives, the Archivo General de la Nación, but are still being catalogued. Since these materials have not yet been completely indexed, I continue to cite them in accordance with their former provenance. The remaining 296 cases analyzed for this essay consisted of full-length, formal criminal cases (causas criminates) located in the collection of the Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior and in the Ramo Criminal in the Archivo General de la Nación. For an excellent discussion of the Libras de reos, including comments on the missing police and court inventories of the AGJ, see Sanchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de Mexico," 316-332. Many historians and nineteenth-century critics of Spanish colonial justice have based much of their censure of the criminal justice system in Mexico City, particularly its alleged abusive, arbitrary, and corrupt nature, on the commentaries of the late eighteenth-century observer, Hipólito Villarroel, not on a comprehensive and systematic examination of the case files. Moreover, a careful reading or Villaroel's criticism of the judicial system illustrates that his charges are levied primarily at the operation of the civil, not criminal, court procedure and that his denunciation of the escribanos has little basis in the case file evidence. México por dentro y fuera bajo el gobiemo de los vireyes, o sea enfermedades políricas que padece la capital de esta Nueva España en casi todo los cuerpos de que se comporte y remedios que se le deben aplicar para su curación si se quiere que sea útil alreyy al público (Mexico City, 1831), 36-40, 46-50. For a discussion or how his accusations shaped later perceptions of criminal justice in the Bourbon colonial Mexico City, see Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico, 15-17, 21, 25. Woodrow Borah's brief biographical study of Villarroel suggests that his indictment of the colonial legal system should be used with considerable caution. "Alguna luz sobre el autor de las Enfermedades políticas," Estudios de Historia Novohispana 8 (1985): 51-79.
91. In descending order of occurrence, the most frequent criminal charges involved drink-related offenses, common-law marriage/adultery, theft, sexual misconduct, assault, and illegal gambling. More than nine of ten arrests involved members of the working poor and involved a cross-section of this group in terms of ethnicity, although Indians (38%), males (74%), and artisans (50%) were over-represented in the court cases. We should not disregard the fact that women and lower-class creoles respectively comprised 26% and 41% of the arrests. Michael C. Scardaville, "Crime and the Urban Poor: Mexico City in the Late Colonial Period" (Ph.D. diss. Gainesville, 1977), 34-47. Of the criminal cases analyzed, 7,067 came from ten extant arrest and court inventories (Libres de reos) formerly located in two municipal judicial archives in Mexico City, the Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal and the Archivo General del Juzgado, Mexico City (hereafter AGJ). Since I first consulted the documents in the AGJ, however, the historical records were misplaced during a renovation of the building. The pre-1950 documents of the AJT were recently moved to the Mexican national archives, the Archivo General de la Nación, but are still being catalogued. Since these materials have not yet been completely indexed, I continue to cite them in accordance with their former provenance. The remaining 296 cases analyzed for this essay consisted of full-length, formal criminal cases (causas criminates) located in the collection of the Archivo Judicial del Tribunal Superior and in the Ramo Criminal in the Archivo General de la Nación. For an excellent discussion of the Libras de reos, including comments on the missing police and court inventories of the AGJ, see Sanchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de Mexico," 316-332. Many historians and nineteenth-century critics of Spanish colonial justice have based much of their censure of the criminal justice system in Mexico City, particularly its alleged abusive, arbitrary, and corrupt nature, on the commentaries of the late eighteenth-century observer, Hipólito Villarroel, not on a comprehensive and systematic examination of the case files. Moreover, a careful reading or Villaroel's criticism of the judicial system illustrates that his charges are levied primarily at the operation of the civil, not criminal, court procedure and that his denunciation of the escribanos has little basis in the case file evidence. México por dentro y fuera bajo el gobiemo de los vireyes, o sea enfermedades políricas que padece la capital de esta Nueva España en casi todo los cuerpos de que se comporte y remedios que se le deben aplicar para su curación si se quiere que sea útil alreyy al público (Mexico City, 1831), 36-40, 46-50. For a discussion or how his accusations shaped later perceptions of criminal justice in the Bourbon colonial Mexico City, see Buffington, Criminal and Citizen in Modern Mexico, 15-17, 21, 25. Woodrow Borah's brief biographical study of Villarroel suggests that his indictment of the colonial legal system should be used with considerable caution. "Alguna luz sobre el autor de las Enfermedades políticas," Estudios de Historia Novohispana 8 (1985): 51-79.
92. I estimated the average caseload by examining the daily arrest patterns in the Libros de reos, particularly those maintained by the escribanos of the alcalde ordinaries and alcaldes de barrio nos. 21, 22 and 23. AGJ, Libros de reos, alcalde ordinario mas antiguo, 1800; Libros de reos, alcalde de barrio número 21, 1800; Libros de reos, alcalde, ordinario menos antiguo, 1807; AJT, Libros de reos, alcalde ordinario mas antiguo, 1795 ; Libros de reos, alcalde ordinario mas antiguo, 1796 ; Libres de reos, alcalde ordinario mas antiguo, 1798 ; Libros de reos, alcaldes de barrio números 22 y 23, 1798. The 1810 report of cases dispatched by the magistrates and scribes of the Sala del Crimen reflects similar patterns. AGN, Real Acuerdo, vol. 20, exp. 150, f. 28.
93. Our petitioner Mariano Espinosa, for instance, worked with one of the jueces mayores as well as the four of the alcaldes de barrio in his jurisdiction. AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exps. 3 and 4.
94. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
95. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
96. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
97. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
98. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
99. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
100. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
101. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
102. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
103. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
104. nd ed. (London, 1996), 12; Bradley Chapin, Criminal Justice in Colonial America, 1606-1660 (Athens, 1983), 28-30.
105. Contrary to what nineteenth-century penal critics and most historians of the colonial Mexican judicial system have claimed, summary, that is, abridged, trials did not mean arbitrary justice and an abuse of legal guarantees. The magistrates followed standard criminal procedures in the juicios sumarios, and they did not presume the guilt of the accused. As repeatedly seen in the case files, the preliminary testimony gathered by the scribe generally determined the culpability of the defendants as well as the seriousness of the offense. The general pattern was that the judge released the accused in the absence of corroborating evidence, or issued his sentence if there was proof of a minor transgression. If the scribe's initial judicial inquiry indicated a more serious offense, the judge then formed a sumaria, which initiated a more formal criminal investigation called a juicio ordinario.
106. For excellent discussions of the more formal criminal judicial procedure used in juicios ordinaries, see Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 105-146, Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 165-167, and Montero Aroca, La herencia procesal española, 29-63.
107. For excellent discussions of the more formal criminal judicial procedure used in juicios ordinaries, see Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 105-146, Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 165-167, and Montero Aroca, La herencia procesal española, 29-63.
108. For excellent discussions of the more formal criminal judicial procedure used in juicios ordinaries, see Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 105-146, Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 165-167, and Montero Aroca, La herencia procesal española, 29-63.
109. I do not wish to categorize the Ibero-American judicial process as being inherently rigid and inflexible. While standard and formulaic to a certain degree, it also exhibited a legally authorized flexibility. Law codes and royal legislation afforded magistrates the right to abridge the criminal investigation if the accused confessed and, as I later discuss, modify the sentence to fit the circumstances of the case. See Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 130-148; Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 193-194 and 213-214.
110. I do not wish to categorize the Ibero-American judicial process as being inherently rigid and inflexible. While standard and formulaic to a certain degree, it also exhibited a legally authorized flexibility. Law codes and royal legislation afforded magistrates the right to abridge the criminal investigation if the accused confessed and, as I later discuss, modify the sentence to fit the circumstances of the case. See Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern New Spain, 130-148; Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 193-194 and 213-214.
111. The general patterns I will describe reflect the work routine of all the escribanos, although some of the specific quotidian responsibilities depended on the officials they served and on the type of viceregal appointment, i.e. royal or habilitado. For instance, the five salaried scribes who assisted the magistrates of the Sola del Crimen, such as the receptores and relatores, performed institutional duties for the high criminal court in addition to the ones described in the essay. Moreover, it is not possible in the scope of this article to discuss all the possible judicial activities undertaken by the different types of escribanos or the many dimensions of the criminal judicial proceedings, such as the nature of court sentences. These and other issues will be addressed in my forthcoming monograph on the administration of criminal justice in Mexico City from the mid-eighteenth century to the 1830s.
112. Prisoners tried in the courts of the five jueces may ores of the Sala del Crimen were confined in the royal jail. Prisoners in the city jail fell under the jurisdiction of the two alcaldes ordinarios and the corregidor. Escribanos de la cárcel, one at each jail, maintained the Libro de entradas. AGN, Bandos, vol. 3, exp. 28; AGN, Criminal, vol. 116, exp. 2; AJT, Penal, vol. 8, exp. 62.
113. Prisoners tried in the courts of the five jueces may ores of the Sala del Crimen were confined in the royal jail. Prisoners in the city jail fell under the jurisdiction of the two alcaldes ordinarios and the corregidor. Escribanos de la cárcel, one at each jail, maintained the Libro de entradas. AGN, Bandos, vol. 3, exp. 28; AGN, Criminal, vol. 116, exp. 2; AJT, Penal, vol. 8, exp. 62.
114. Prisoners tried in the courts of the five jueces may ores of the Sala del Crimen were confined in the royal jail. Prisoners in the city jail fell under the jurisdiction of the two alcaldes ordinarios and the corregidor. Escribanos de la cárcel, one at each jail, maintained the Libro de entradas. AGN, Bandos, vol. 3, exp. 28; AGN, Criminal, vol. 116, exp. 2; AJT, Penal, vol. 8, exp. 62.
115. 42. See AGN, Criminal, vol. 715, exp. 11, f. 246 for information concerning the sala de declaraciones. Concerning the expeditious way in which testimony should be taken, Charles III issued the following instruction to corregidores in 1788: "that within twenty-four hours after imprisonment, any prisoner, without exception, shall give his statement since it is not just to deprive a free man of his liberty without promptly knowing the reason why it was taken away from him." Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispono-Megicanos, 3: no. 5138. Case evidence shows that the escribanos routinely recorded the initial statement within one day after the arrest.
116. See AGN, Criminal, vol. 715, exp. 11, f. 246 for information concerning the sala de declaraciones. Concerning the expeditious way in which testimony should be taken, Charles III issued the following instruction to corregidores in 1788: "that within twenty-four hours after imprisonment, any prisoner, without exception, shall give his statement since it is not just to deprive a free man of his liberty without promptly knowing the reason why it was taken away from him." Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispono-Megicanos, 3: no. 5138. Case evidence shows that the escribanos routinely recorded the initial statement within one day after the arrest.
117. This daily routine was slightly altered every Thursday and Saturday morning when, in preparation for the weekly visits to the royal and city jails, all scribes personally delivered status reports of the active juicios ordinarios to the oidores, the highest-ranking magistrates of the Audiencia, or to the alcaldes ordinaries. Eusebio Ventura Beleña, Recopilacióon sumaria de todos los autos acordados de la Real Audiencia y Sala del Crimen de esta Nueva España. 2 vols. (Mexico City, 1991), 2: no. 9, art. 9, 44-45.
118. In the interest of expediting justice, the law required scribes to notify the prisoner of the sentence no later than one day after the judge pronounced it. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectos Hispano-Megicanas, 1: no. 1997. According to the case evidence, this was routinely done on same day. For the role of escribanos in the sentencing process, see Ibid. no. 1701.
119. In the interest of expediting justice, the law required scribes to notify the prisoner of the sentence no later than one day after the judge pronounced it. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectos Hispano-Megicanas, 1: no. 1997. According to the case evidence, this was routinely done on same day. For the role of escribanos in the sentencing process, see Ibid. no. 1701.
120. For a listing of these records, see AJT, Penal, vol. 13, exps. 1-4.
121. See, AJT, Penal, vol. 4, exp. 9 and vol. 10, exp. 5.
122. The majority of arrests in the eight district tribunals occurred after someone, typically a working-class person, filed a charge with an alcalde de barrio or a magistrate. In 1798, for instance, this meant that Indians, costos, and poor creoles filed over 3,000 criminal charges in the lower courts of Mexico City. Arrests based on complaints were higher in certain offenses, especially family-related problems, vagrancy, theft, and common-law marriage/adultery. Scardaville, "Crime and the Urban Poor," 10-11 and 35. The expansion in the number of courts and judicial officials in the early 1780s as well as the low cost of summary justice facilitated access to and use of the criminal justice system by the urban poor, regardless of their economic situation and ethnicity. The reduction and even elimination of court fees for indigents gave people from all social groups access to the criminal judicial system. Civil litigation involved significantly greater costs than did criminal cases. See notes 62 and 67 for additional comments on criminal and civil court expenses.
123. AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 5 involves a case of a man brandishing a sword at the scribe and other judicial officials who were attempting to arrest him.
124. Clearly, this portrait of a typical day represents an ideal scenario. It does not include those days when the escribano was ill or distracted by family or other matters. Nor should we assume that all scribes were always and equally diligent in fulfilling their responsibilities. However, the case file evidence involving dozens of escribanos over almost a thirty-year period consistently reflects a high degree of professional commitment and performance.
125. AGN, Criminal, vol. 73, exp. 5, fs. 303-303v. The oidores or alcaldes ordinaries reviewed the status of each major criminal file (juicio ordinario) in the presence of the prisoner and the scribe who handled the case to determine whether it should continue or, because of delays, be expedited or terminated.
126. See, for instance, AJT, Penal, vol. 3, exp. 9 and exp. 51; vol. 8, exp. 49; Archivo Historico del Distrito Federal, Mexico City (hereafter AHDF), Policía en General, vol. 3628, exp. 72.
127. See, for instance, AJT, Penal, vol. 3, exp. 9 and exp. 51; vol. 8, exp. 49; Archivo Historico del Distrito Federal, Mexico City (hereafter AHDF), Policía en General, vol. 3628, exp. 72.
128. See, for instance, AJT, Penal, vol. 3, exp. 9 and exp. 51; vol. 8, exp. 49; Archivo Historico del Distrito Federal, Mexico City (hereafter AHDF), Policía en General, vol. 3628, exp. 72.
129. See, AJT, Penal, vol. 8, exp. 32. In addition to his routine duties, Mariano Espinosa served as the scribe in the 326 cases generated during the levas de vagos conducted in 1797 and 1798. AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 7.
130. See, AJT, Penal, vol. 8, exp. 32. In addition to his routine duties, Mariano Espinosa served as the scribe in the 326 cases generated during the levas de vagos conducted in 1797 and 1798. AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 7.
131. Pre-constitutional Ibero-american governments, which were shaped largely by medieval political principles, were not characterized by a separation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers. As representatives of the king, who embodied all four dimensions of governance, royal officials in varying degrees exercised multiple responsibilities. Judges and police officials performed at a minimum judicial (justicia) and administrative (gobierno or policía) duties. Some officials, like the corregidores, also discharged fiscal (hocienoa) and military (guerra) obligations. For a succinct discussion of the relationship between justicia and other governmental functions, see Zorraquín Becú, La función de justicia, 17-22 and 26-30.
132. For an overview of these activities relating to Policía, see AHDF, Alumbrado, vol. 345, exp. 8; AHDF, Policía en General, vols. 3628 and 3629.
133. For an overview of these activities relating to Policía, see AHDF, Alumbrado, vol. 345, exp. 8; AHDF, Policía en General, vols. 3628 and 3629.
134. The royal scribes who assisted the lay magistrates also were known as escribanos de número or escribanos públicos and exercised a monopoly on all notarial duties in the city. In addition to their work in civil suits, these escribanos públicos prepared, maintained, and archived the specific legal instruments and the Libros de protocoles that comprise today's notary archives in Mexico City. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanos, 2: no. 3610; Fernández del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 55-56; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 45-47; 56-57; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos públicos en Nueva España," 53, 88-89, 94. See note 21 concerning the exclusion of deputy scribes from notarial duties and civil litigation.
135. The royal scribes who assisted the lay magistrates also were known as escribanos de número or escribanos públicos and exercised a monopoly on all notarial duties in the city. In addition to their work in civil suits, these escribanos públicos prepared, maintained, and archived the specific legal instruments and the Libros de protocoles that comprise today's notary archives in Mexico City. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanos, 2: no. 3610; Fernández del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 55-56; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 45-47; 56-57; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos públicos en Nueva España," 53, 88-89, 94. See note 21 concerning the exclusion of deputy scribes from notarial duties and civil litigation.
136. The royal scribes who assisted the lay magistrates also were known as escribanos de número or escribanos públicos and exercised a monopoly on all notarial duties in the city. In addition to their work in civil suits, these escribanos públicos prepared, maintained, and archived the specific legal instruments and the Libros de protocoles that comprise today's notary archives in Mexico City. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanos, 2: no. 3610; Fernández del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 55-56; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 45-47; 56-57; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos públicos en Nueva España," 53, 88-89, 94. See note 21 concerning the exclusion of deputy scribes from notarial duties and civil litigation.
137. The royal scribes who assisted the lay magistrates also were known as escribanos de número or escribanos públicos and exercised a monopoly on all notarial duties in the city. In addition to their work in civil suits, these escribanos públicos prepared, maintained, and archived the specific legal instruments and the Libros de protocoles that comprise today's notary archives in Mexico City. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanos, 2: no. 3610; Fernández del Castillo, Historia de la escribanía, 55-56; Mijares Ramírez, Escribanos y escrituras públicas en el siglo XVI, 45-47; 56-57; Icaza Dufour, "De los escribanos públicos en Nueva España," 53, 88-89, 94. See note 21 concerning the exclusion of deputy scribes from notarial duties and civil litigation.
138. Spanish law specified limits on the length of time required for certain judicial procedures. One such law in the 1462 Ordenamiento de Alcalá, for instance, decreed that magistrates must issue the final sentence no longer than twenty days after the investigation had been completed. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 3: no. 4108. The case evidence shows that this was routinely done, often long before the three-week limit.
139. The typical escribano was not simply trying to get through the day as quickly as possible. After reading many criminal cases, my sense is that the testimonies of witnesses and the accused were relatively unstructured affairs in which their length and detail varied in accordance with what person needed or wanted to express. Moreover, the scribe's charge in the judge's auto cabeza del proceso gave him latitude to decide whether additional actions, such as conducting a careo or locating additional witnesses, were necessary to resolve any discrepancies in the evidence. Seen in this light, the principal investigative charge of the escribanos was to provide, if possible, a file of congruent testimony and other evidence to the judge so that he could make an informed deliberation. Again, my impression, based on the case evidence, is that the scribes did not compromise the judicial actions required of them.
140. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 3: no. 5139. This order should not DC read as evidence of widespread judicial abuse in Mexico City. Typically the origin of such royal decrees is found in complaints that had been submitted by colonial officials or subjects from any part of the empire, but the characteristic response of the Spanish monarchy was to issue injunctions that were applicable throughout the colonies. In this sense, this particular royal decree provided the king an opportunity to reaffirm standard and expected judicial practices.
141. In spite of the legally-sanctioned social inequalities of the era which customarily shaped the sentences of the court, the case evidence also shows that the courts systematically extended procedural safeguards to all of the accused, regardless of their class, ethnicity, gender, and age.
142. Many petitions submitted to the magistrates end with the phrase: "es Justicia," an assertion suggesting that members of popular groups expected that the legal system would be procedurally fair and that justice would be served. Although such court documents were drawn up with the assistance of a scribe to ensure that they followed certain juridical forms, they are nonetheless one reflection of the extent to which working class people from different backgrounds possessed legal knowledge and expressed legal expectations. As the literature on procedural fairness illustrates, notions of justice are based just as much on receiving a fair hearing than on obtaining a desired court ruling. See note 6 for an elaboration of this point. While historians typically have explained the application of due process as a royal favor or as an act of royal benevolence, recent research points to the existence of a concept of rights, including the notion of due process, that has roots in twelfth-century canon law developments in Western Europe. These studies demonstrate the emergence of a juridical-political consensus that all members of society possessed inalienable, individual God-given rights, not merely communal or corporate rights. A theory of individual rights, which encompassed the principle of a defendant's legal rights, had become widely accepted in Western jurisprudence by the end of the thirteenth century and subsequently was incorporated into Spain's influential legal code, the Siete Partidas. The development of a natural rights discourse that preceded the rise of early capitalism and the Enlightenment offers additional insight into why the courts of Bourbon Mexico City, even in the absence of specific constitutional requirements, strictly adhered to procedural norms for individuals from even the lowest, and the most feared, social classes. According to medieval jurists and restated time and again in more secularized forms in succeeding centuries, the king and his agents could not withhold such rights since they were bound by a higher, natural law. Brian Tiemey, The Idea of Natural Rights: Studies on Natural Rights, Natural Law and Church Law, 1150-1625 (Atlanta, 1997); Annabel S. Brett, Liberty, Right, and Nature: Individual Rights in Later Scholastic Thought (Cambridge, 1997); Kenneth Pennington, The Prince and the Law, 1200-1600: Sovereignty and Rights in the Western Legal Tradition (Berkeley, 1993); Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 81-97; Jorge M. Ayala, "Antecedentes medievales de los derechos humanos," Veritos: Revista de Filosofia 44 (1999): 853-864; Mackay, The Limits of Royal Authority, 173-177.
143. Many petitions submitted to the magistrates end with the phrase: "es Justicia," an assertion suggesting that members of popular groups expected that the legal system would be procedurally fair and that justice would be served. Although such court documents were drawn up with the assistance of a scribe to ensure that they followed certain juridical forms, they are nonetheless one reflection of the extent to which working class people from different backgrounds possessed legal knowledge and expressed legal expectations. As the literature on procedural fairness illustrates, notions of justice are based just as much on receiving a fair hearing than on obtaining a desired court ruling. See note 6 for an elaboration of this point. While historians typically have explained the application of due process as a royal favor or as an act of royal benevolence, recent research points to the existence of a concept of rights, including the notion of due process, that has roots in twelfth-century canon law developments in Western Europe. These studies demonstrate the emergence of a juridical-political consensus that all members of society possessed inalienable, individual God-given rights, not merely communal or corporate rights. A theory of individual rights, which encompassed the principle of a defendant's legal rights, had become widely accepted in Western jurisprudence by the end of the thirteenth century and subsequently was incorporated into Spain's influential legal code, the Siete Partidas. The development of a natural rights discourse that preceded the rise of early capitalism and the Enlightenment offers additional insight into why the courts of Bourbon Mexico City, even in the absence of specific constitutional requirements, strictly adhered to procedural norms for individuals from even the lowest, and the most feared, social classes. According to medieval jurists and restated time and again in more secularized forms in succeeding centuries, the king and his agents could not withhold such rights since they were bound by a higher, natural law. Brian Tiemey, The Idea of Natural Rights: Studies on Natural Rights, Natural Law and Church Law, 1150-1625 (Atlanta, 1997); Annabel S. Brett, Liberty, Right, and Nature: Individual Rights in Later Scholastic Thought (Cambridge, 1997); Kenneth Pennington, The Prince and the Law, 1200-1600: Sovereignty and Rights in the Western Legal Tradition (Berkeley, 1993); Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 81-97; Jorge M. Ayala, "Antecedentes medievales de los derechos humanos," Veritos: Revista de Filosofia 44 (1999): 853-864; Mackay, The Limits of Royal Authority, 173-177.
144. Many petitions submitted to the magistrates end with the phrase: "es Justicia," an assertion suggesting that members of popular groups expected that the legal system would be procedurally fair and that justice would be served. Although such court documents were drawn up with the assistance of a scribe to ensure that they followed certain juridical forms, they are nonetheless one reflection of the extent to which working class people from different backgrounds possessed legal knowledge and expressed legal expectations. As the literature on procedural fairness illustrates, notions of justice are based just as much on receiving a fair hearing than on obtaining a desired court ruling. See note 6 for an elaboration of this point. While historians typically have explained the application of due process as a royal favor or as an act of royal benevolence, recent research points to the existence of a concept of rights, including the notion of due process, that has roots in twelfth-century canon law developments in Western Europe. These studies demonstrate the emergence of a juridical-political consensus that all members of society possessed inalienable, individual God-given rights, not merely communal or corporate rights. A theory of individual rights, which encompassed the principle of a defendant's legal rights, had become widely accepted in Western jurisprudence by the end of the thirteenth century and subsequently was incorporated into Spain's influential legal code, the Siete Partidas. The development of a natural rights discourse that preceded the rise of early capitalism and the Enlightenment offers additional insight into why the courts of Bourbon Mexico City, even in the absence of specific constitutional requirements, strictly adhered to procedural norms for individuals from even the lowest, and the most feared, social classes. According to medieval jurists and restated time and again in more secularized forms in succeeding centuries, the king and his agents could not withhold such rights since they were bound by a higher, natural law. Brian Tiemey, The Idea of Natural Rights: Studies on Natural Rights, Natural Law and Church Law, 1150-1625 (Atlanta, 1997); Annabel S. Brett, Liberty, Right, and Nature: Individual Rights in Later Scholastic Thought (Cambridge, 1997); Kenneth Pennington, The Prince and the Law, 1200-1600: Sovereignty and Rights in the Western Legal Tradition (Berkeley, 1993); Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 81-97; Jorge M. Ayala, "Antecedentes medievales de los derechos humanos," Veritos: Revista de Filosofia 44 (1999): 853-864; Mackay, The Limits of Royal Authority, 173-177.
145. Many petitions submitted to the magistrates end with the phrase: "es Justicia," an assertion suggesting that members of popular groups expected that the legal system would be procedurally fair and that justice would be served. Although such court documents were drawn up with the assistance of a scribe to ensure that they followed certain juridical forms, they are nonetheless one reflection of the extent to which working class people from different backgrounds possessed legal knowledge and expressed legal expectations. As the literature on procedural fairness illustrates, notions of justice are based just as much on receiving a fair hearing than on obtaining a desired court ruling. See note 6 for an elaboration of this point. While historians typically have explained the application of due process as a royal favor or as an act of royal benevolence, recent research points to the existence of a concept of rights, including the notion of due process, that has roots in twelfth-century canon law developments in Western Europe. These studies demonstrate the emergence of a juridical-political consensus that all members of society possessed inalienable, individual God-given rights, not merely communal or corporate rights. A theory of individual rights, which encompassed the principle of a defendant's legal rights, had become widely accepted in Western jurisprudence by the end of the thirteenth century and subsequently was incorporated into Spain's influential legal code, the Siete Partidas. The development of a natural rights discourse that preceded the rise of early capitalism and the Enlightenment offers additional insight into why the courts of Bourbon Mexico City, even in the absence of specific constitutional requirements, strictly adhered to procedural norms for individuals from even the lowest, and the most feared, social classes. According to medieval jurists and restated time and again in more secularized forms in succeeding centuries, the king and his agents could not withhold such rights since they were bound by a higher, natural law. Brian Tiemey, The Idea of Natural Rights: Studies on Natural Rights, Natural Law and Church Law, 1150-1625 (Atlanta, 1997); Annabel S. Brett, Liberty, Right, and Nature: Individual Rights in Later Scholastic Thought (Cambridge, 1997); Kenneth Pennington, The Prince and the Law, 1200-1600: Sovereignty and Rights in the Western Legal Tradition (Berkeley, 1993); Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 81-97; Jorge M. Ayala, "Antecedentes medievales de los derechos humanos," Veritos: Revista de Filosofia 44 (1999): 853-864; Mackay, The Limits of Royal Authority, 173-177.
146. Many petitions submitted to the magistrates end with the phrase: "es Justicia," an assertion suggesting that members of popular groups expected that the legal system would be procedurally fair and that justice would be served. Although such court documents were drawn up with the assistance of a scribe to ensure that they followed certain juridical forms, they are nonetheless one reflection of the extent to which working class people from different backgrounds possessed legal knowledge and expressed legal expectations. As the literature on procedural fairness illustrates, notions of justice are based just as much on receiving a fair hearing than on obtaining a desired court ruling. See note 6 for an elaboration of this point. While historians typically have explained the application of due process as a royal favor or as an act of royal benevolence, recent research points to the existence of a concept of rights, including the notion of due process, that has roots in twelfth-century canon law developments in Western Europe. These studies demonstrate the emergence of a juridical-political consensus that all members of society possessed inalienable, individual God-given rights, not merely communal or corporate rights. A theory of individual rights, which encompassed the principle of a defendant's legal rights, had become widely accepted in Western jurisprudence by the end of the thirteenth century and subsequently was incorporated into Spain's influential legal code, the Siete Partidas. The development of a natural rights discourse that preceded the rise of early capitalism and the Enlightenment offers additional insight into why the courts of Bourbon Mexico City, even in the absence of specific constitutional requirements, strictly adhered to procedural norms for individuals from even the lowest, and the most feared, social classes. According to medieval jurists and restated time and again in more secularized forms in succeeding centuries, the king and his agents could not withhold such rights since they were bound by a higher, natural law. Brian Tiemey, The Idea of Natural Rights: Studies on Natural Rights, Natural Law and Church Law, 1150-1625 (Atlanta, 1997); Annabel S. Brett, Liberty, Right, and Nature: Individual Rights in Later Scholastic Thought (Cambridge, 1997); Kenneth Pennington, The Prince and the Law, 1200-1600: Sovereignty and Rights in the Western Legal Tradition (Berkeley, 1993); Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 81-97; Jorge M. Ayala, "Antecedentes medievales de los derechos humanos," Veritos: Revista de Filosofia 44 (1999): 853-864; Mackay, The Limits of Royal Authority, 173-177.
147. Many petitions submitted to the magistrates end with the phrase: "es Justicia," an assertion suggesting that members of popular groups expected that the legal system would be procedurally fair and that justice would be served. Although such court documents were drawn up with the assistance of a scribe to ensure that they followed certain juridical forms, they are nonetheless one reflection of the extent to which working class people from different backgrounds possessed legal knowledge and expressed legal expectations. As the literature on procedural fairness illustrates, notions of justice are based just as much on receiving a fair hearing than on obtaining a desired court ruling. See note 6 for an elaboration of this point. While historians typically have explained the application of due process as a royal favor or as an act of royal benevolence, recent research points to the existence of a concept of rights, including the notion of due process, that has roots in twelfth-century canon law developments in Western Europe. These studies demonstrate the emergence of a juridical-political consensus that all members of society possessed inalienable, individual God-given rights, not merely communal or corporate rights. A theory of individual rights, which encompassed the principle of a defendant's legal rights, had become widely accepted in Western jurisprudence by the end of the thirteenth century and subsequently was incorporated into Spain's influential legal code, the Siete Partidas. The development of a natural rights discourse that preceded the rise of early capitalism and the Enlightenment offers additional insight into why the courts of Bourbon Mexico City, even in the absence of specific constitutional requirements, strictly adhered to procedural norms for individuals from even the lowest, and the most feared, social classes. According to medieval jurists and restated time and again in more secularized forms in succeeding centuries, the king and his agents could not withhold such rights since they were bound by a higher, natural law. Brian Tiemey, The Idea of Natural Rights: Studies on Natural Rights, Natural Law and Church Law, 1150-1625 (Atlanta, 1997); Annabel S. Brett, Liberty, Right, and Nature: Individual Rights in Later Scholastic Thought (Cambridge, 1997); Kenneth Pennington, The Prince and the Law, 1200-1600: Sovereignty and Rights in the Western Legal Tradition (Berkeley, 1993); Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 81-97; Jorge M. Ayala, "Antecedentes medievales de los derechos humanos," Veritos: Revista de Filosofia 44 (1999): 853-864; Mackay, The Limits of Royal Authority, 173-177.
148. For a discussion of how legal protections contribute to regime legitimization, see Lind andTyler, The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice; Jacob, "Introduction," in Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective, 13-14.
149. For a discussion of how legal protections contribute to regime legitimization, see Lind andTyler, The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice; Jacob, "Introduction," in Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective, 13-14.
150. Other court practices reflective of the late colonial legal culture also contributed to notions of fairness and effectiveness, such as speed of justice, cost, and final court sentences. The judges waived certain kinds of judicial expenses for indigents and, as previously noted, handled the vast majority of cases expeditiously. The magistrates' sentences in juicios sumarios generally were temperate, with the courts acquitting or placing on probation nearly one-quarter of all of the accused. Fines, which accounted for 29 percent of the sentences in summary cases, were the most frequently used judicial penalty. Of the thousands of cases analyzed, there were no incidences of capital punishment, and corporal punishment was rarely used by the first decade of the nineteenth century. For extended discussions of the generally moderate court sentences in both the juicios ordinar-ios and juicios sumarios, see Scardaville, "Crime and the Urban Poor," 276-308; Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 169-180; and Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 357 and 447-448.
151. Other court practices reflective of the late colonial legal culture also contributed to notions of fairness and effectiveness, such as speed of justice, cost, and final court sentences. The judges waived certain kinds of judicial expenses for indigents and, as previously noted, handled the vast majority of cases expeditiously. The magistrates' sentences in juicios sumarios generally were temperate, with the courts acquitting or placing on probation nearly one-quarter of all of the accused. Fines, which accounted for 29 percent of the sentences in summary cases, were the most frequently used judicial penalty. Of the thousands of cases analyzed, there were no incidences of capital punishment, and corporal punishment was rarely used by the first decade of the nineteenth century. For extended discussions of the generally moderate court sentences in both the juicios ordinar-ios and juicios sumarios, see Scardaville, "Crime and the Urban Poor," 276-308; Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 169-180; and Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 357 and 447-448.
152. Other court practices reflective of the late colonial legal culture also contributed to notions of fairness and effectiveness, such as speed of justice, cost, and final court sentences. The judges waived certain kinds of judicial expenses for indigents and, as previously noted, handled the vast majority of cases expeditiously. The magistrates' sentences in juicios sumarios generally were temperate, with the courts acquitting or placing on probation nearly one-quarter of all of the accused. Fines, which accounted for 29 percent of the sentences in summary cases, were the most frequently used judicial penalty. Of the thousands of cases analyzed, there were no incidences of capital punishment, and corporal punishment was rarely used by the first decade of the nineteenth century. For extended discussions of the generally moderate court sentences in both the juicios ordinar-ios and juicios sumarios, see Scardaville, "Crime and the Urban Poor," 276-308; Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de México, 169-180; and Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 357 and 447-448.
153. For the authorized escribano fee structure (arancel) in criminal cases, see AGN, Bandos, vol. 3 exp. 27.
154. Ibero-American law authorized this abbreviation of the formal judicial process. As specified in the Siete Partidas, the plenario was necessary only if the sumaria or probatory phase did not conclusively demonstrate the culpability of the accused or, in complex cases, fully document the nature of the criminal offense. Montera Aroca, La herencia procesal española, 39; Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiano, 213-214. Moreover, case file evidence demonstrates that the municipal judges customarily terminated the process upon the completion of the investigative phase if charges against the accused were not substantiated. In Mexico City, few juicio ordinarios went the full procedural distance.
155. Ibero-American law authorized this abbreviation of the formal judicial process. As specified in the Siete Partidas, the plenario was necessary only if the sumaria or probatory phase did not conclusively demonstrate the culpability of the accused or, in complex cases, fully document the nature of the criminal offense. Montera Aroca, La herencia procesal española, 39; Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiano, 213-214. Moreover, case file evidence demonstrates that the municipal judges customarily terminated the process upon the completion of the investigative phase if charges against the accused were not substantiated. In Mexico City, few juicio ordinarios went the full procedural distance.
156. AGN, Bandos, vol. 3, exp. 27.
157. Recopilación de leyes de los reynos de las Indios, Libro II, título 23, leyes, 48 and 52. For the purpose of fee waivers, Spanish law defined indigence as not possessing any property, a condition many working-class people were able to satisfy. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 1: no. 2009. Also see, Ibid., 3: no. 4189; Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de Mexico, 168-169.
158. Recopilación de leyes de los reynos de las Indios, Libro II, título 23, leyes, 48 and 52. For the purpose of fee waivers, Spanish law defined indigence as not possessing any property, a condition many working-class people were able to satisfy. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 1: no. 2009. Also see, Ibid., 3: no. 4189; Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de Mexico, 168-169.
159. Recopilación de leyes de los reynos de las Indios, Libro II, título 23, leyes, 48 and 52. For the purpose of fee waivers, Spanish law defined indigence as not possessing any property, a condition many working-class people were able to satisfy. Rodríguez de San Miguel, Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, 1: no. 2009. Also see, Ibid., 3: no. 4189; Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de Mexico, 168-169.
160. As discussed in note 33, Villarroel's late eighteenth-century criticism of extortion generally related to civil, not criminal, cases. Also see Rodrigue: de San Miguel's comment that scribes in post-independence Mexico City, in spite of sixteenth-century legislation to the contrary, tended to postpone taking action in civil suits involving poor people in favor of those filed by wealthier litigants who could more easily afford the necessary judicial fees and unsanctioned gratuities. Pandectas Hispano-Megicanas, I, no. 1685. Richard L. Kagan's study of the civil law process in Hapsburg Spain presents an excellent discussion of the widespread corruption and excessive delays that characterized the handling of lawsuits in the Castillan judicial system. Lawsuits and Litigants in Castile, 1500-1700 (Chapel Hill, 1981), 37-51.
161. In one 1804 case, the Sala del Crimen removed scribe Francisco Santaella from office after the court substantiated an accusation that he took a gratificatión (unauthorized fee) in an case involving common-law marriage. The Ministers of the high criminal court rejected his petition to be reinstated. In this particular instance, the couple involved possessed the financial means to offer a substantial bribe. AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 5. The alcaldes del crimen removed scribes from office on other occasions after investigations corroborated the charges of "abuses" or "excesses." While some escribanos did indeed betray their positions of trust, we also must recognize that the Sala del Crimen, in spite of the shortage of escribanos, took decisive action once charges were filed and verified. Protecting anyone who accused a judicial official of misconduct was the anonymity he or she maintained during the probatory or sumaria phase of the investigation. See, AGN, Ayuntamientos, vol. 222, exp. 2 and AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exp. 4, no folios.
162. In one 1804 case, the Sala del Crimen removed scribe Francisco Santaella from office after the court substantiated an accusation that he took a gratificatión (unauthorized fee) in an case involving common-law marriage. The Ministers of the high criminal court rejected his petition to be reinstated. In this particular instance, the couple involved possessed the financial means to offer a substantial bribe. AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 5. The alcaldes del crimen removed scribes from office on other occasions after investigations corroborated the charges of "abuses" or "excesses." While some escribanos did indeed betray their positions of trust, we also must recognize that the Sala del Crimen, in spite of the shortage of escribanos, took decisive action once charges were filed and verified. Protecting anyone who accused a judicial official of misconduct was the anonymity he or she maintained during the probatory or sumaria phase of the investigation. See, AGN, Ayuntamientos, vol. 222, exp. 2 and AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exp. 4, no folios.
163. In one 1804 case, the Sala del Crimen removed scribe Francisco Santaella from office after the court substantiated an accusation that he took a gratificatión (unauthorized fee) in an case involving common-law marriage. The Ministers of the high criminal court rejected his petition to be reinstated. In this particular instance, the couple involved possessed the financial means to offer a substantial bribe. AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 5. The alcaldes del crimen removed scribes from office on other occasions after investigations corroborated the charges of "abuses" or "excesses." While some escribanos did indeed betray their positions of trust, we also must recognize that the Sala del Crimen, in spite of the shortage of escribanos, took decisive action once charges were filed and verified. Protecting anyone who accused a judicial official of misconduct was the anonymity he or she maintained during the probatory or sumaria phase of the investigation. See, AGN, Ayuntamientos, vol. 222, exp. 2 and AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exp. 4, no folios.
164. According to the Rector of the Real Colegio de Escribanos, the deputy scribes often performed fee-based notarial transactions, lucrative judicial behavior that was contrary to royal legislation and the 1782 enabling ordinance that limited their responsibilities to criminal jurisdiction. AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exp. 3, no folios.
165. See, for instance, AGN, Criminal, vol. 89, exp. 1
166. For a sampling of such examples, see AGN, Criminal vol. 89, exp. 9; vol. 715, exp. 2; AJT, Penal, vol. 3, exp. 65; vol. 6, exp. 29.
167. For a sampling of such examples, see AGN, Criminal vol. 89, exp. 9; vol. 715, exp. 2; AJT, Penal, vol. 3, exp. 65; vol. 6, exp. 29.
168. For a sampling of such examples, see AGN, Criminal vol. 89, exp. 9; vol. 715, exp. 2; AJT, Penal, vol. 3, exp. 65; vol. 6, exp. 29.
169. For a sampling of such examples, see AGN, Criminal vol. 89, exp. 9; vol. 715, exp. 2; AJT, Penal, vol. 3, exp. 65; vol. 6, exp. 29.
170. One dimension of the sumaria illustrates this point. As stipulated by law, the accused did not have a right to review the other testimonies gathered in the course of the scribe's preliminary investigation, although the defendant would be informed of the reason for his or her imprisonment. Knowledge of these statements and their contents would occur if the case is advanced to the next phase of the process, the plenario, when a series of judicial proofs would be offered to all parties. It should be kept in mind that the secrecy of the probatory phase, as is the case for grand jury investigations in common law traditions, was not an illegal abuse on the part of the authorities. Such judicial behavior was standard practice since the Siete Partidas codified penal procedure and was inherent in the nature of continental civil law judicial administration. Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana , 212; Tomás y Valiente, Gobierno e institutions en la España, 229. Michel Foucault discusses the ways in which the secretive nature of the preliminary investigation in French criminal procedure of the ancien régime represents another "technology of power" the state used to control and subjugate people charged with a crime. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (New York, 1995), 35-42.
171. One dimension of the sumaria illustrates this point. As stipulated by law, the accused did not have a right to review the other testimonies gathered in the course of the scribe's preliminary investigation, although the defendant would be informed of the reason for his or her imprisonment. Knowledge of these statements and their contents would occur if the case is advanced to the next phase of the process, the plenario, when a series of judicial proofs would be offered to all parties. It should be kept in mind that the secrecy of the probatory phase, as is the case for grand jury investigations in common law traditions, was not an illegal abuse on the part of the authorities. Such judicial behavior was standard practice since the Siete Partidas codified penal procedure and was inherent in the nature of continental civil law judicial administration. Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana , 212; Tomás y Valiente, Gobierno e institutions en la España, 229. Michel Foucault discusses the ways in which the secretive nature of the preliminary investigation in French criminal procedure of the ancien régime represents another "technology of power" the state used to control and subjugate people charged with a crime. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (New York, 1995), 35-42.
172. One dimension of the sumaria illustrates this point. As stipulated by law, the accused did not have a right to review the other testimonies gathered in the course of the scribe's preliminary investigation, although the defendant would be informed of the reason for his or her imprisonment. Knowledge of these statements and their contents would occur if the case is advanced to the next phase of the process, the plenario, when a series of judicial proofs would be offered to all parties. It should be kept in mind that the secrecy of the probatory phase, as is the case for grand jury investigations in common law traditions, was not an illegal abuse on the part of the authorities. Such judicial behavior was standard practice since the Siete Partidas codified penal procedure and was inherent in the nature of continental civil law judicial administration. Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana , 212; Tomás y Valiente, Gobierno e institutions en la España, 229. Michel Foucault discusses the ways in which the secretive nature of the preliminary investigation in French criminal procedure of the ancien régime represents another "technology of power" the state used to control and subjugate people charged with a crime. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (New York, 1995), 35-42.
173. Testifying under oath, especially in the confines of the sala de declarations in the jail, certainly represented an inequality in power relations between the escribano and the accused, but unlike the taking of statements in eighteenth-century French jails, prisoners in Mexico City were not made to sit or kneel on uncomfortable chairs or stools (sellettes), and the municipal courts in the viceregal capital, unlike those of pre-Revolutionary Paris, did not employ torture as a means of extracting confessions or statements. Richard Mowery Andrews, Law, Magistracy and Crime in Old Regime Paris, 1735-1789. Vol. 1 : The Criminal Justice System (Cambridge, 1994), 429, 441-466; Antoinette Wills, Crime and Punishment in Revolutionary Paris (Westport, Conn., 1981), 6-9. Andrews does note, however, that the incidence of investigative torture was declining in the late eighteenth century, 454. The application of torture was permissible under Spanish law until prohibited by the Constitution of 1812, and therefore would have been dutifully recorded in the criminal files as were all judicial actions, but I did not find one instance of its use in over 7,000 cases. For supporting evidence, see Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de Mexico, 185 and Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de Mexico," 371-453.
174. Testifying under oath, especially in the confines of the sala de declarations in the jail, certainly represented an inequality in power relations between the escribano and the accused, but unlike the taking of statements in eighteenth-century French jails, prisoners in Mexico City were not made to sit or kneel on uncomfortable chairs or stools (sellettes), and the municipal courts in the viceregal capital, unlike those of pre-Revolutionary Paris, did not employ torture as a means of extracting confessions or statements. Richard Mowery Andrews, Law, Magistracy and Crime in Old Regime Paris, 1735-1789. Vol. 1 : The Criminal Justice System (Cambridge, 1994), 429, 441-466; Antoinette Wills, Crime and Punishment in Revolutionary Paris (Westport, Conn., 1981), 6-9. Andrews does note, however, that the incidence of investigative torture was declining in the late eighteenth century, 454. The application of torture was permissible under Spanish law until prohibited by the Constitution of 1812, and therefore would have been dutifully recorded in the criminal files as were all judicial actions, but I did not find one instance of its use in over 7,000 cases. For supporting evidence, see Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de Mexico, 185 and Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de Mexico," 371-453.
175. Testifying under oath, especially in the confines of the sala de declarations in the jail, certainly represented an inequality in power relations between the escribano and the accused, but unlike the taking of statements in eighteenth-century French jails, prisoners in Mexico City were not made to sit or kneel on uncomfortable chairs or stools (sellettes), and the municipal courts in the viceregal capital, unlike those of pre-Revolutionary Paris, did not employ torture as a means of extracting confessions or statements. Richard Mowery Andrews, Law, Magistracy and Crime in Old Regime Paris, 1735-1789. Vol. 1 : The Criminal Justice System (Cambridge, 1994), 429, 441-466; Antoinette Wills, Crime and Punishment in Revolutionary Paris (Westport, Conn., 1981), 6-9. Andrews does note, however, that the incidence of investigative torture was declining in the late eighteenth century, 454. The application of torture was permissible under Spanish law until prohibited by the Constitution of 1812, and therefore would have been dutifully recorded in the criminal files as were all judicial actions, but I did not find one instance of its use in over 7,000 cases. For supporting evidence, see Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de Mexico, 185 and Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de Mexico," 371-453.
176. Testifying under oath, especially in the confines of the sala de declarations in the jail, certainly represented an inequality in power relations between the escribano and the accused, but unlike the taking of statements in eighteenth-century French jails, prisoners in Mexico City were not made to sit or kneel on uncomfortable chairs or stools (sellettes), and the municipal courts in the viceregal capital, unlike those of pre-Revolutionary Paris, did not employ torture as a means of extracting confessions or statements. Richard Mowery Andrews, Law, Magistracy and Crime in Old Regime Paris, 1735-1789. Vol. 1 : The Criminal Justice System (Cambridge, 1994), 429, 441-466; Antoinette Wills, Crime and Punishment in Revolutionary Paris (Westport, Conn., 1981), 6-9. Andrews does note, however, that the incidence of investigative torture was declining in the late eighteenth century, 454. The application of torture was permissible under Spanish law until prohibited by the Constitution of 1812, and therefore would have been dutifully recorded in the criminal files as were all judicial actions, but I did not find one instance of its use in over 7,000 cases. For supporting evidence, see Lozano Armendares, La criminalidad en la ciudad de Mexico, 185 and Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de Mexico," 371-453.
177. For the historical and juridical basis of arbitrio judicial, see Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absolute, 295-317, 320, 331-352, 375-380; Corvalan and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 156, 177-184, 193-231; Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 151-156. The fundamental principles of this judicial doctrine are expressed in Partida VII of the Siete Partidas, For a discussion or the practice of arbitrio judicial in Mexico City and provincial New Spain, see Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 371-453; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern NewSpain, 35-43; González and Lozano, "La administración de Justicia," 101-102; Mario A. Téllez González, La Justicia criminal en el Volle de Toluca, 1800-1829 (Zinacantepec, 2001), 177-186.
178. For the historical and juridical basis of arbitrio judicial, see Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absolute, 295-317, 320, 331-352, 375-380; Corvalan and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 156, 177-184, 193-231; Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 151-156. The fundamental principles of this judicial doctrine are expressed in Partida VII of the Siete Partidas, For a discussion or the practice of arbitrio judicial in Mexico City and provincial New Spain, see Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 371-453; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern NewSpain, 35-43; González and Lozano, "La administración de Justicia," 101-102; Mario A. Téllez González, La Justicia criminal en el Volle de Toluca, 1800-1829 (Zinacantepec, 2001), 177-186.
179. For the historical and juridical basis of arbitrio judicial, see Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absolute, 295-317, 320, 331-352, 375-380; Corvalan and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 156, 177-184, 193-231; Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 151-156. The fundamental principles of this judicial doctrine are expressed in Partida VII of the Siete Partidas, For a discussion or the practice of arbitrio judicial in Mexico City and provincial New Spain, see Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 371-453; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern NewSpain, 35-43; González and Lozano, "La administración de Justicia," 101-102; Mario A. Téllez González, La Justicia criminal en el Volle de Toluca, 1800-1829 (Zinacantepec, 2001), 177-186.
180. For the historical and juridical basis of arbitrio judicial, see Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absolute, 295-317, 320, 331-352, 375-380; Corvalan and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 156, 177-184, 193-231; Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 151-156. The fundamental principles of this judicial doctrine are expressed in Partida VII of the Siete Partidas, For a discussion or the practice of arbitrio judicial in Mexico City and provincial New Spain, see Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 371-453; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern NewSpain, 35-43; González and Lozano, "La administración de Justicia," 101-102; Mario A. Téllez González, La Justicia criminal en el Volle de Toluca, 1800-1829 (Zinacantepec, 2001), 177-186.
181. For the historical and juridical basis of arbitrio judicial, see Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absolute, 295-317, 320, 331-352, 375-380; Corvalan and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 156, 177-184, 193-231; Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 151-156. The fundamental principles of this judicial doctrine are expressed in Partida VII of the Siete Partidas, For a discussion or the practice of arbitrio judicial in Mexico City and provincial New Spain, see Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 371-453; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern NewSpain, 35-43; González and Lozano, "La administración de Justicia," 101-102; Mario A. Téllez González, La Justicia criminal en el Volle de Toluca, 1800-1829 (Zinacantepec, 2001), 177-186.
182. For the historical and juridical basis of arbitrio judicial, see Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absolute, 295-317, 320, 331-352, 375-380; Corvalan and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 156, 177-184, 193-231; Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 151-156. The fundamental principles of this judicial doctrine are expressed in Partida VII of the Siete Partidas, For a discussion or the practice of arbitrio judicial in Mexico City and provincial New Spain, see Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 371-453; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern NewSpain, 35-43; González and Lozano, "La administración de Justicia," 101-102; Mario A. Téllez González, La Justicia criminal en el Volle de Toluca, 1800-1829 (Zinacantepec, 2001), 177-186.
183. For the historical and juridical basis of arbitrio judicial, see Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absolute, 295-317, 320, 331-352, 375-380; Corvalan and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 156, 177-184, 193-231; Brundage, Medieval Canon Law, 151-156. The fundamental principles of this judicial doctrine are expressed in Partida VII of the Siete Partidas, For a discussion or the practice of arbitrio judicial in Mexico City and provincial New Spain, see Sánchez-Arcilla, "La Administración de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 371-453; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Northern NewSpain, 35-43; González and Lozano, "La administración de Justicia," 101-102; Mario A. Téllez González, La Justicia criminal en el Volle de Toluca, 1800-1829 (Zinacantepec, 2001), 177-186.
184. For a discussion of these criticisms of arbitrio judicial, see Buffington, Criminal and Citizen m Modern Mexico, 12-21 and 111-119, Téllez González, La justicia criminal en el Valle de Toluca, 177-178, and Fabio López-Lázaro, "No Deceit Safe in Its Hiding Place: The Criminal Trail in Eighteenth-Century Spain," Law and History Review 20 (2002), 449-478. Sánchez-Arcilla notes that the eminent Spanish legal historian Francisco Tomás y Valiente also erroneously conflated arbitrio judicial with magisterial arbitrariness. "La Administration de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 363-367 and 450-451. Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absoluta, 376-389.
185. For a discussion of these criticisms of arbitrio judicial, see Buffington, Criminal and Citizen m Modern Mexico, 12-21 and 111-119, Téllez González, La justicia criminal en el Valle de Toluca, 177-178, and Fabio López-Lázaro, "No Deceit Safe in Its Hiding Place: The Criminal Trail in Eighteenth-Century Spain," Law and History Review 20 (2002), 449-478. Sánchez-Arcilla notes that the eminent Spanish legal historian Francisco Tomás y Valiente also erroneously conflated arbitrio judicial with magisterial arbitrariness. "La Administration de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 363-367 and 450-451. Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absoluta, 376-389.
186. For a discussion of these criticisms of arbitrio judicial, see Buffington, Criminal and Citizen m Modern Mexico, 12-21 and 111-119, Téllez González, La justicia criminal en el Valle de Toluca, 177-178, and Fabio López-Lázaro, "No Deceit Safe in Its Hiding Place: The Criminal Trail in Eighteenth-Century Spain," Law and History Review 20 (2002), 449-478. Sánchez-Arcilla notes that the eminent Spanish legal historian Francisco Tomás y Valiente also erroneously conflated arbitrio judicial with magisterial arbitrariness. "La Administration de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 363-367 and 450-451. Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absoluta, 376-389.
187. For a discussion of these criticisms of arbitrio judicial, see Buffington, Criminal and Citizen m Modern Mexico, 12-21 and 111-119, Téllez González, La justicia criminal en el Valle de Toluca, 177-178, and Fabio López-Lázaro, "No Deceit Safe in Its Hiding Place: The Criminal Trail in Eighteenth-Century Spain," Law and History Review 20 (2002), 449-478. Sánchez-Arcilla notes that the eminent Spanish legal historian Francisco Tomás y Valiente also erroneously conflated arbitrio judicial with magisterial arbitrariness. "La Administration de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 363-367 and 450-451. Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absoluta, 376-389.
188. For a discussion of these criticisms of arbitrio judicial, see Buffington, Criminal and Citizen m Modern Mexico, 12-21 and 111-119, Téllez González, La justicia criminal en el Valle de Toluca, 177-178, and Fabio López-Lázaro, "No Deceit Safe in Its Hiding Place: The Criminal Trail in Eighteenth-Century Spain," Law and History Review 20 (2002), 449-478. Sánchez-Arcilla notes that the eminent Spanish legal historian Francisco Tomás y Valiente also erroneously conflated arbitrio judicial with magisterial arbitrariness. "La Administration de Justicia inferior en la Ciudad de México," 363-367 and 450-451. Tomás y Valiente, El derecho penal de la monarquía absoluta, 376-389.
189. The perfunctory effort to eliminate the "excesses" associated with the pulque (pulquerías) and hard liquor taverns (vinateríos) is a typical example of the way in which Mexico City's judicial officials modified laws and penalties. Generally, the local magistrates and police officials passively enforced government sanctions on drinking taverns, and for those working class people who were arrested for such violations, the judges often reduced the penalty stipulated in the laws. Michael C. Scardaville, "Alcohol Abuse and Tavern Reform in Late Colonial Mexico City," Hispanic American Historical Review 60 (1980): 643-671.
190. The periodic conscriptions of alleged vagrants (levas de vagos) during the late 1790s were an exception, however. Because of the need to quickly replenish vacant military positions during wartime, one of the ministers of the Sala del Crimen, as mandated by the Ordenanzas de Levas, streamlined normal criminal procedures. Although evidence collected by the escribano was still required to substantiate the charge of vagrancy, there were occasions when the royal prosecuting attorney (fiscal), as a form of plea-bargaining, encouraged the accused to confess in order to reduce his sentence. See, for example, AGN, Criminal, vol. 715, exp. 16.
191. For British historians, the ceremonial nature of eighteenth-century English criminal courts, as public symbols of sovereign authority, conveys the power of the state. According to E.P. Thompson, for instance, the "hegemony of the eighteenth-century gentry and aristocracy was expressed, above all, not in military force, not in the mystifications of a priesthood or of the press, not even in economic coercion, but in the rituals of the study of the Justices of the Peace, in the quarter-sessions, in the pomp of the Assizes and in the theatre of Tyburn." Whigs and Hunters: The Origin of the Black Act (New York, 1976), 262. For similar comments about the "majesty of law," see Douglas Hay, "Property, Authority and the Criminal Law", in Douglas Hay, Peter Linebaugh. John G. Rule, E.P. Thompson, and Cal Winslow, eds., Albion's Fatal Tree: Crime and Society in Eighteenth Century England (New York, 1975), 120. North American scholars also have underscored the connection between the ceremonial nature of American courts and maintenance of social order. See Jacob, "Introduction," in Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective, 12.
192. For British historians, the ceremonial nature of eighteenth-century English criminal courts, as public symbols of sovereign authority, conveys the power of the state. According to E.P. Thompson, for instance, the "hegemony of the eighteenth-century gentry and aristocracy was expressed, above all, not in military force, not in the mystifications of a priesthood or of the press, not even in economic coercion, but in the rituals of the study of the Justices of the Peace, in the quarter-sessions, in the pomp of the Assizes and in the theatre of Tyburn." Whigs and Hunters: The Origin of the Black Act (New York, 1976), 262. For similar comments about the "majesty of law," see Douglas Hay, "Property, Authority and the Criminal Law", in Douglas Hay, Peter Linebaugh. John G. Rule, E.P. Thompson, and Cal Winslow, eds., Albion's Fatal Tree: Crime and Society in Eighteenth Century England (New York, 1975), 120. North American scholars also have underscored the connection between the ceremonial nature of American courts and maintenance of social order. See Jacob, "Introduction," in Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective, 12.
193. For British historians, the ceremonial nature of eighteenth-century English criminal courts, as public symbols of sovereign authority, conveys the power of the state. According to E.P. Thompson, for instance, the "hegemony of the eighteenth-century gentry and aristocracy was expressed, above all, not in military force, not in the mystifications of a priesthood or of the press, not even in economic coercion, but in the rituals of the study of the Justices of the Peace, in the quarter-sessions, in the pomp of the Assizes and in the theatre of Tyburn." Whigs and Hunters: The Origin of the Black Act (New York, 1976), 262. For similar comments about the "majesty of law," see Douglas Hay, "Property, Authority and the Criminal Law", in Douglas Hay, Peter Linebaugh. John G. Rule, E.P. Thompson, and Cal Winslow, eds., Albion's Fatal Tree: Crime and Society in Eighteenth Century England (New York, 1975), 120. North American scholars also have underscored the connection between the ceremonial nature of American courts and maintenance of social order. See Jacob, "Introduction," in Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective, 12.
194. Historians are generally mistaken about the public nature of the criminal judicial process in Bourbon Mexico. Contrary to what has been asserted by scholars of crime in eighteenth-century New Spain, public trials and courthouses were not part of the colonial Mexican legal system. For instance, see Haslip-Viera, Crime and Punishment in Late Colonial Mexico City, 81.
195. The only opportunity for a magistrate to encounter prisoners under his jurisdiction was during his weekly inspections of the jail, but, as previously noted, the majority of the accused were sentenced and released in less than a week.
196. Civil cases also were handled bureaucratically through the submission of written documents by the litigants. Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiano, 83.
197. By "assured," I do not mean that respect for state authority was unchanging and guaranteed. As becomes patently evident in Mexico during the post-1810 independence era and following decades, public authority is always dependent on current developments and consequently is in a constant state of interpretation and negotiation.
198. The literature on procedural justice has demonstrated a strong positive connection in Western and non-western societies between the nature of the judicial process and opinions about and acceptance of political and legal institutions. Lind and Tyler conclude that "judgements of process fairness were consistently the major factor involved in generalizations from personal experience to system-level views." Although they use terms like procedural justice and procedural fairness interchangeably, they "do not mean to imply tnat cultures that lack concepts easily translatable as 'fairness' lack procedural effect. We believe that whether violation of an entitlement is labeled 'unfair' or 'inappropriate' or 'impolite,' the psychological consequences are much the same." The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice, 3, 76-81, 129-145, 203-220.
199. He earned a 200-peso salary for his position as relator (official who prepares legal briefs), a post that required scribe certification even though Espinosa was still classified as an escrioano habilitado. He paid a price for the financial stability the position afforded. In addition to his extensive institutional responsibilities, he also served as scribe to one of the jueces mayores and to all four alcaldes de barrio in one of the major administrative districts. The magistrate, Manuel Mariano de Blaya, who was a jurist by training, gave Espinosa high marks for his professional conduct and knowledge. Espinosa continued to work as a deputy scribe in different judicial capacities in the Sala del Crimen until 1820. AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 5; AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exp. 3; Arnold, Directorio de burócratas en la ciudad de México, 39.
200. He earned a 200-peso salary for his position as relator (official who prepares legal briefs), a post that required scribe certification even though Espinosa was still classified as an escrioano habilitado. He paid a price for the financial stability the position afforded. In addition to his extensive institutional responsibilities, he also served as scribe to one of the jueces mayores and to all four alcaldes de barrio in one of the major administrative districts. The magistrate, Manuel Mariano de Blaya, who was a jurist by training, gave Espinosa high marks for his professional conduct and knowledge. Espinosa continued to work as a deputy scribe in different judicial capacities in the Sala del Crimen until 1820. AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 5; AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exp. 3; Arnold, Directorio de burócratas en la ciudad de México, 39.
201. He earned a 200-peso salary for his position as relator (official who prepares legal briefs), a post that required scribe certification even though Espinosa was still classified as an escrioano habilitado. He paid a price for the financial stability the position afforded. In addition to his extensive institutional responsibilities, he also served as scribe to one of the jueces mayores and to all four alcaldes de barrio in one of the major administrative districts. The magistrate, Manuel Mariano de Blaya, who was a jurist by training, gave Espinosa high marks for his professional conduct and knowledge. Espinosa continued to work as a deputy scribe in different judicial capacities in the Sala del Crimen until 1820. AGN, Criminal, vol. 625, exp. 5; AGN, Civil, vol. 2156, exp. 3; Arnold, Directorio de burócratas en la ciudad de México, 39.
202. Other tribunals in Mexico City, such as the Alumbrado, the Inquisition, the Indios, and the Acordoda, also behaved in a similar fashion. For case examples, see AJT, Libras-de reos, corregidor, 1794, 1796, 1798; AGN, Criminal, vol. 84, exp. 11; vol. 641, exps. 6 and 7. Also see Borah, Justice by Insurance, 232-233; William F. Connell, "Transformation of a Criminal Court in Mexico City: An Inquiry into the Real Tribunal de la Acordada, 1775-1812." M.A. thesis (Columbia: University of South Carolina, 1997). As noted previously, this moderate use of judicial power in the late colonial period also is evident in the generally temperate sentences handed down by all courts.
203. Other tribunals in Mexico City, such as the Alumbrado, the Inquisition, the Indios, and the Acordoda, also behaved in a similar fashion. For case examples, see AJT, Libras-de reos, corregidor, 1794, 1796, 1798; AGN, Criminal, vol. 84, exp. 11; vol. 641, exps. 6 and 7. Also see Borah, Justice by Insurance, 232-233; William F. Connell, "Transformation of a Criminal Court in Mexico City: An Inquiry into the Real Tribunal de la Acordada, 1775-1812." M.A. thesis (Columbia: University of South Carolina, 1997). As noted previously, this moderate use of judicial power in the late colonial period also is evident in the generally temperate sentences handed down by all courts.
204. Other tribunals in Mexico City, such as the Alumbrado, the Inquisition, the Indios, and the Acordoda, also behaved in a similar fashion. For case examples, see AJT, Libras-de reos, corregidor, 1794, 1796, 1798; AGN, Criminal, vol. 84, exp. 11; vol. 641, exps. 6 and 7. Also see Borah, Justice by Insurance, 232-233; William F. Connell, "Transformation of a Criminal Court in Mexico City: An Inquiry into the Real Tribunal de la Acordada, 1775-1812." M.A. thesis (Columbia: University of South Carolina, 1997). As noted previously, this moderate use of judicial power in the late colonial period also is evident in the generally temperate sentences handed down by all courts.
205. Other tribunals in Mexico City, such as the Alumbrado, the Inquisition, the Indios, and the Acordoda, also behaved in a similar fashion. For case examples, see AJT, Libras-de reos, corregidor, 1794, 1796, 1798; AGN, Criminal, vol. 84, exp. 11; vol. 641, exps. 6 and 7. Also see Borah, Justice by Insurance, 232-233; William F. Connell, "Transformation of a Criminal Court in Mexico City: An Inquiry into the Real Tribunal de la Acordada, 1775-1812." M.A. thesis (Columbia: University of South Carolina, 1997). As noted previously, this moderate use of judicial power in the late colonial period also is evident in the generally temperate sentences handed down by all courts.
206. Other tribunals in Mexico City, such as the Alumbrado, the Inquisition, the Indios, and the Acordoda, also behaved in a similar fashion. For case examples, see AJT, Libras-de reos, corregidor, 1794, 1796, 1798; AGN, Criminal, vol. 84, exp. 11; vol. 641, exps. 6 and 7. Also see Borah, Justice by Insurance, 232-233; William F. Connell, "Transformation of a Criminal Court in Mexico City: An Inquiry into the Real Tribunal de la Acordada, 1775-1812." M.A. thesis (Columbia: University of South Carolina, 1997). As noted previously, this moderate use of judicial power in the late colonial period also is evident in the generally temperate sentences handed down by all courts.
207. We should be sensitive to the fact that popular rejection of specific laws and government initiatives, which some of the urban poor viewed as inimical to their beliefs and customs, did not invalidate a general acceptance of legal institutions.
208. My research on law enforcement suggests a more reactive urban constabulary than has often been portrayed, a conclusion based in large part on detailed examination of daily police practices. I do not find considerable evidence in the use of force and coercion in the every day behavior of the alcaldes de barrio, guardafaroleros (street lighting guards), and other judicial agents in Mexico City.
209. I again stress the need to historicize our understanding of the legal system in particular and the colonial state in general, In attempting to examine the criminal justice system, scholars must be wary or broad generalizations in terms of time and place as a result of differing institutional, economic, and, demographic conditions. My study applies specifically to late colonial Mexico City, but I ultimately hope to raise issues and processes that can be explored in different contexts. With this said, I should note as a preliminary point of comparison that courts in some parts of rural New Spain, including those in the frontier provinces of New Mexico and Texas, and in the Spanish colonies of Chile, Río de la Plata, and Ecuador, display a remarkable adherence to procedural norms in spite of the absence of trained jurists and scribes. Perhaps these procedural similarities in vastly different and far-flung parts of the Spanish American empire suggest a fairly broad understanding and acceptance of Iberian legal norms throughout the colonies. This tentative conclusion clearly has to be substantiated by more extensive examination of local court records in many parts of New Spain and other regions of the Americas. González and Lozano, "La administración de justicia," 88-105; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Nonhern New Spain; Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 42, 406-417; Zorraquín Becú, La función de justicia, 24; Tamar Herzog, La administratión como un fenómino social: la justicia penal de la ciudad de Quito (1650-1750) (Madrid, 1995).especially chapter 8. Moreover, in a forthcoming article on this enduring colonial legal culture in the early national period, I note that the introduction of modern constitutional forms of government in the early nineteenth century did not alter basic colonial juridical principles. "Los procesos judiciales y la autoridad del Estado: reflexiones en torno a la administración de la justicia criminal y la legitimidad en la ciudad de México, desde fines de la Colonia hasta principles del Mexico independiente," in Brian Connaughton, ed., Poder y Legitimidad en México, Siglo XIX. Instituciones y Cultura Política (Mexico City, forthcoming).
210. I again stress the need to historicize our understanding of the legal system in particular and the colonial state in general, In attempting to examine the criminal justice system, scholars must be wary or broad generalizations in terms of time and place as a result of differing institutional, economic, and, demographic conditions. My study applies specifically to late colonial Mexico City, but I ultimately hope to raise issues and processes that can be explored in different contexts. With this said, I should note as a preliminary point of comparison that courts in some parts of rural New Spain, including those in the frontier provinces of New Mexico and Texas, and in the Spanish colonies of Chile, Río de la Plata, and Ecuador, display a remarkable adherence to procedural norms in spite of the absence of trained jurists and scribes. Perhaps these procedural similarities in vastly different and far-flung parts of the Spanish American empire suggest a fairly broad understanding and acceptance of Iberian legal norms throughout the colonies. This tentative conclusion clearly has to be substantiated by more extensive examination of local court records in many parts of New Spain and other regions of the Americas. González and Lozano, "La administración de justicia," 88-105; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Nonhern New Spain; Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 42, 406-417; Zorraquín Becú, La función de justicia, 24; Tamar Herzog, La administratión como un fenómino social: la justicia penal de la ciudad de Quito (1650-1750) (Madrid, 1995).especially chapter 8. Moreover, in a forthcoming article on this enduring colonial legal culture in the early national period, I note that the introduction of modern constitutional forms of government in the early nineteenth century did not alter basic colonial juridical principles. "Los procesos judiciales y la autoridad del Estado: reflexiones en torno a la administración de la justicia criminal y la legitimidad en la ciudad de México, desde fines de la Colonia hasta principles del Mexico independiente," in Brian Connaughton, ed., Poder y Legitimidad en México, Siglo XIX. Instituciones y Cultura Política (Mexico City, forthcoming).
211. I again stress the need to historicize our understanding of the legal system in particular and the colonial state in general, In attempting to examine the criminal justice system, scholars must be wary or broad generalizations in terms of time and place as a result of differing institutional, economic, and, demographic conditions. My study applies specifically to late colonial Mexico City, but I ultimately hope to raise issues and processes that can be explored in different contexts. With this said, I should note as a preliminary point of comparison that courts in some parts of rural New Spain, including those in the frontier provinces of New Mexico and Texas, and in the Spanish colonies of Chile, Río de la Plata, and Ecuador, display a remarkable adherence to procedural norms in spite of the absence of trained jurists and scribes. Perhaps these procedural similarities in vastly different and far-flung parts of the Spanish American empire suggest a fairly broad understanding and acceptance of Iberian legal norms throughout the colonies. This tentative conclusion clearly has to be substantiated by more extensive examination of local court records in many parts of New Spain and other regions of the Americas. González and Lozano, "La administración de justicia," 88-105; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Nonhern New Spain; Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 42, 406-417; Zorraquín Becú, La función de justicia, 24; Tamar Herzog, La administratión como un fenómino social: la justicia penal de la ciudad de Quito (1650-1750) (Madrid, 1995).especially chapter 8. Moreover, in a forthcoming article on this enduring colonial legal culture in the early national period, I note that the introduction of modern constitutional forms of government in the early nineteenth century did not alter basic colonial juridical principles. "Los procesos judiciales y la autoridad del Estado: reflexiones en torno a la administración de la justicia criminal y la legitimidad en la ciudad de México, desde fines de la Colonia hasta principles del Mexico independiente," in Brian Connaughton, ed., Poder y Legitimidad en México, Siglo XIX. Instituciones y Cultura Política (Mexico City, forthcoming).
212. I again stress the need to historicize our understanding of the legal system in particular and the colonial state in general, In attempting to examine the criminal justice system, scholars must be wary or broad generalizations in terms of time and place as a result of differing institutional, economic, and, demographic conditions. My study applies specifically to late colonial Mexico City, but I ultimately hope to raise issues and processes that can be explored in different contexts. With this said, I should note as a preliminary point of comparison that courts in some parts of rural New Spain, including those in the frontier provinces of New Mexico and Texas, and in the Spanish colonies of Chile, Río de la Plata, and Ecuador, display a remarkable adherence to procedural norms in spite of the absence of trained jurists and scribes. Perhaps these procedural similarities in vastly different and far-flung parts of the Spanish American empire suggest a fairly broad understanding and acceptance of Iberian legal norms throughout the colonies. This tentative conclusion clearly has to be substantiated by more extensive examination of local court records in many parts of New Spain and other regions of the Americas. González and Lozano, "La administración de justicia," 88-105; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Nonhern New Spain; Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 42, 406-417; Zorraquín Becú, La función de justicia, 24; Tamar Herzog, La administratión como un fenómino social: la justicia penal de la ciudad de Quito (1650-1750) (Madrid, 1995).especially chapter 8. Moreover, in a forthcoming article on this enduring colonial legal culture in the early national period, I note that the introduction of modern constitutional forms of government in the early nineteenth century did not alter basic colonial juridical principles. "Los procesos judiciales y la autoridad del Estado: reflexiones en torno a la administración de la justicia criminal y la legitimidad en la ciudad de México, desde fines de la Colonia hasta principles del Mexico independiente," in Brian Connaughton, ed., Poder y Legitimidad en México, Siglo XIX. Instituciones y Cultura Política (Mexico City, forthcoming).
213. I again stress the need to historicize our understanding of the legal system in particular and the colonial state in general, In attempting to examine the criminal justice system, scholars must be wary or broad generalizations in terms of time and place as a result of differing institutional, economic, and, demographic conditions. My study applies specifically to late colonial Mexico City, but I ultimately hope to raise issues and processes that can be explored in different contexts. With this said, I should note as a preliminary point of comparison that courts in some parts of rural New Spain, including those in the frontier provinces of New Mexico and Texas, and in the Spanish colonies of Chile, Río de la Plata, and Ecuador, display a remarkable adherence to procedural norms in spite of the absence of trained jurists and scribes. Perhaps these procedural similarities in vastly different and far-flung parts of the Spanish American empire suggest a fairly broad understanding and acceptance of Iberian legal norms throughout the colonies. This tentative conclusion clearly has to be substantiated by more extensive examination of local court records in many parts of New Spain and other regions of the Americas. González and Lozano, "La administración de justicia," 88-105; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Nonhern New Spain; Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 42, 406-417; Zorraquín Becú, La función de justicia, 24; Tamar Herzog, La administratión como un fenómino social: la justicia penal de la ciudad de Quito (1650-1750) (Madrid, 1995).especially chapter 8. Moreover, in a forthcoming article on this enduring colonial legal culture in the early national period, I note that the introduction of modern constitutional forms of government in the early nineteenth century did not alter basic colonial juridical principles. "Los procesos judiciales y la autoridad del Estado: reflexiones en torno a la administración de la justicia criminal y la legitimidad en la ciudad de México, desde fines de la Colonia hasta principles del Mexico independiente," in Brian Connaughton, ed., Poder y Legitimidad en México, Siglo XIX. Instituciones y Cultura Política (Mexico City, forthcoming).
214. I again stress the need to historicize our understanding of the legal system in particular and the colonial state in general, In attempting to examine the criminal justice system, scholars must be wary or broad generalizations in terms of time and place as a result of differing institutional, economic, and, demographic conditions. My study applies specifically to late colonial Mexico City, but I ultimately hope to raise issues and processes that can be explored in different contexts. With this said, I should note as a preliminary point of comparison that courts in some parts of rural New Spain, including those in the frontier provinces of New Mexico and Texas, and in the Spanish colonies of Chile, Río de la Plata, and Ecuador, display a remarkable adherence to procedural norms in spite of the absence of trained jurists and scribes. Perhaps these procedural similarities in vastly different and far-flung parts of the Spanish American empire suggest a fairly broad understanding and acceptance of Iberian legal norms throughout the colonies. This tentative conclusion clearly has to be substantiated by more extensive examination of local court records in many parts of New Spain and other regions of the Americas. González and Lozano, "La administración de justicia," 88-105; Cutter, The Legal Culture of Nonhern New Spain; Corvalán and Castillo, Derecho Procesal Indiana, 42, 406-417; Zorraquín Becú, La función de justicia, 24; Tamar Herzog, La administratión como un fenómino social: la justicia penal de la ciudad de Quito (1650-1750) (Madrid, 1995).especially chapter 8. Moreover, in a forthcoming article on this enduring colonial legal culture in the early national period, I note that the introduction of modern constitutional forms of government in the early nineteenth century did not alter basic colonial juridical principles. "Los procesos judiciales y la autoridad del Estado: reflexiones en torno a la administración de la justicia criminal y la legitimidad en la ciudad de México, desde fines de la Colonia hasta principles del Mexico independiente," in Brian Connaughton, ed., Poder y Legitimidad en México, Siglo XIX. Instituciones y Cultura Política (Mexico City, forthcoming).
215. Tomás y Valiente and Alonso Romero discuss the continuity of medieval and Hapsburg legal principles under the Bourbons. El derecho penal de la monarquía absoluta, 93-112, 380, 407-408 and El proceso penal en Castilla, 317-335.
216. Tomás y Valiente and Alonso Romero discuss the continuity of medieval and Hapsburg legal principles under the Bourbons. El derecho penal de la monarquía absoluta, 93-112, 380, 407-408 and El proceso penal en Castilla, 317-335.
217. One of the best examples of the numerous late eighteenth-century legal reform initiatives was the successful effort to eliminate the arbitrary procedural practices of the Tribunal of the Acordada, a judicial institution created earlier in the century to deal swiftly and, if necessary, severely with rural crime and banditry. MacLachlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico, 71-74 and 84-87; Connell, "Transformation of a Criminal Court in Mexico City." For the procedures the Acordada magistrates and escribanos were required to follow after 1776, see, AGN, Acordada, vol. 9, fs. 180-195.
218. One of the best examples of the numerous late eighteenth-century legal reform initiatives was the successful effort to eliminate the arbitrary procedural practices of the Tribunal of the Acordada, a judicial institution created earlier in the century to deal swiftly and, if necessary, severely with rural crime and banditry. MacLachlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico, 71-74 and 84-87; Connell, "Transformation of a Criminal Court in Mexico City." For the procedures the Acordada magistrates and escribanos were required to follow after 1776, see, AGN, Acordada, vol. 9, fs. 180-195.
219. One of the best examples of the numerous late eighteenth-century legal reform initiatives was the successful effort to eliminate the arbitrary procedural practices of the Tribunal of the Acordada, a judicial institution created earlier in the century to deal swiftly and, if necessary, severely with rural crime and banditry. MacLachlan, Criminal Justice in Eighteenth Century Mexico, 71-74 and 84-87; Connell, "Transformation of a Criminal Court in Mexico City." For the procedures the Acordada magistrates and escribanos were required to follow after 1776, see, AGN, Acordada, vol. 9, fs. 180-195.
220. This understanding of what I call the "judicial state", and especially the operation of the criminal justice system, is very much at odds with historians of crime in colonial Mexico City who envision law as being largely coercive. They focus more on how the state sustains domination by force, or threat to use force, than on how authority can be created though cultural meanings. Legal anthropologist Sally Engle Merry, in her critique of this one-dimensional view of law, explores the multi-faceted manner in which law can establish support for authority. As she notes, "law exerts both coercive power and subtle cultural domination." Getting Justice and Getting Even: Legal Consciousness among Working-clow Americans (Chicago, 1990), 8-11.