Extremely important cases might be carried on appeal to the
highest courts of the realm--the Parlements--of which there were
thirteen, headed in honor by that of Paris.
[Sidenote: Prevalence of Injustice]
Although courts were so plenteous, justice was seldom to be found.
Persons wrongfully accused of crime were tortured until they confessed
deeds they had never committed. The public was not admitted to trials,
so no one knew on what grounds the sentence was passed, and the judge
gave no reason for his verdict. Civil lawsuits were appealed from court
to court and might drag on for years until the parties had spent all
their money. Lawyers were more anxious to extract large fees from their
clients than to secure justice for them.
[Sidenote: "Noblesse de la Robe"]
Confused laws and conflicting jurisdictions were often made worse by
the character of the judges who presided over royal courts. Many of
them were rich bourgeois who had purchased their appointment from the
king. For a large price it was possible to buy a judgeship or seat in a
Parlement, not only for a lifetime but as an hereditary possession.
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