egedly giving bad advice) to express the legislatorsÆ disapproval of the KingÆs policies. Often times, however, the Crown would stave off conviction by pardoning the accused or by dissolving or proroguing Parliament. The power of impeachment expanded to include judges because they were high officials ôdeemed triable only by the Lords.ö
The most serious impeachable offense was treason. The Parliament defined treason broadly, making it a malleable crime that could be used to punish enemies. For example, the 1386 case against the Earl of Suffolk charged him with ôhigh treason.ö The Earl of SuffolkÆs allegedly treasonous acts included taking advantage of the KingÆs tender age and imposing false views on the King. Moreover, those convicted of treason faced not only death but also the forfeiture of their title and their assets. Indeed, they could face any punishment that the House of Lords could devise.
The term ôhigh crimes and misdemeanorsö suggests a private or civil offense, not a criminal one. The term misdemeanor did not exist in the criminal law at the time and it seems to have been derived from the law of torts. Misdemeanors did not become synonymous with minor crimes until late in the 1500s; up until that point, such crimes were defined as ôtrespasses.ö Thus, the clause ôhigh crimes and misdemeanorsö covered those official acts that did not rise to criminal behavior yet constituted more than a simple mistake.
Berger examined a sampling of charges from impeachment proceedings over 300 years of English history, from 1386 to 1695. None were criminal in nature, and most charged the accused with failing to carry out the duties of his office or the orders of Parliament. ôThese chargesàdelineate the outlines of æhigh crimes and misdemeanors.Æ For they are reducible to intelligible categories: misapplication of fundsàabuse of official poweràneglect of dutyà[and] encroachment on or con...