Amercement

Amerciament. [L. Lat. am£rciamentum, misericordia; from Fr. merci, mercy.] In practice. A pecuniary punishment imposed by a court upon an ofiender; and supposed to be so called either because the offender thereby anciently put himself in the mercy {in misericordia) of the king or lord, or because the amount of the punishment was to be m^cifully assessed, that is, at a less sum than was actually deserved. Tennes de la ley.

F. N. B. 76, K. Co. Litt. 126 b.

1 Crabb's Retd Prop. 506, §653. •,^.„ Anciently there was an important distinction between an amercement and a fine. A fint was a certain punishment, growing ■expressly out of some statute, and was always imposed and assessed by the court; an amercement was imposed by the court in general terms, {quod sit in miser icordia, that the party be in mercy,) and was afterwards assessed or affected (that is, jnoderated, and reduced to a certain sum) by the peers or equals of the party, who were hence called affeerors. Cowell, Termes de la ley, F, N'.B.

76, H. K. 8 Co, 38, [77,] 59, [118.] 11 Id. 43. 1 Salk. 67. 3 Id. 33. 4 Bl, Com, 379.

See Affeer, Affeerment This was pursuant to Magna Charta, (c. 14,) and the Statute of Westminster 1, (c. 6.) Brae/, fol.

116 b.

See Anierciare. Again, a fine was a more severe punishment, imposed for offences of magnitude; an amercement was a lighter or more merciful penalty, adapted to offences of a lighter character; (mulcta levishvioribus erratis per misericordiajti imposita,) Spelma^i, voc.

Amerciamentum. 1 Manwood's Forest Law, 166, cited in Cowell.

See Fine. Lastly, the term amercement was applied more particularly to pecuniary punishments imposed upon the officers of courts, as sheriffs and coroners, and the word is still used in this sense.

Cowell. Bouvier.

United States Digest, Amercement. See Amerciare. In other respects, however, no essential distinction remains between an amercement and a fine. Amercements, in their ancient technical sense, are entirely disused in modem practice.