Ashford v. Thornton
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Ashford v. Thornton was an 1818 English legal case standing for the principle that all law remains until it is repealed.
In 1817, Abraham Thornton was charged with the murder of Mary Ashford, but the jury acquitted the defendant.
Mary’s brother, William Ashford, launched an appeal at the King’s Bench. The defendant claimed the right to trial by combat, a medieval usage which had not been specifically repealed by Parliament. The prosecution stated that a law ought to become invalid if it was not used for centuries.
The court decided that all law remains until it is repealed, and therefore Thornton was granted trial by battle. Ashford declined the offer and Thornton won his case.
After this ruling, Parliament quickly repealed the right to trial by combat.
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