ARTICLES OF HIGH MISDEMEANOUR Humbly Offered and Presented to the Consideration of His SACRED MAJESTY, and the Right Honourable the LORDS and others of his Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council, against Sir WILLIAM SCROGGS, Knight, Lord Chief Justice of his Majesty's Court of King's Bench, Westminster, as followeth:  By Dr. TITUS OATS, etc. 
I. THat the said Lord Chief Justice, contrary to his Oath, the Duty of his place, and in contempt of the King, his Crown and Dignity, did set at liberty several persons accused upon Oath before him of High Treason, without their being Tried, or otherwise Legally acquitted, as namely, the Lord Brudnel, etc.  
II. That at the Trial of Sir George Wakeman and others, in the Sessions-House in the Old Bailie, for High Treason, the said Lord Chief Justice (according to the Dignity of his place) managing the said Trial, did Browbeat and curb Doctor Titus Oats and Mr. William Bedlowe, two of the principal Witnesses for the King in that Case, and did encourage the Jury Impanelled and Sworn to try the said Malefactors, against the said Witnesses, by his public speaking slightly and abusively of them and their Evidence, and in the misrepeating and omitting most material parts of their Evidence; whereby the said parties indicted, were by the said Jury acquitted of the Fact charged then against them, and fully proved by the said Witnesses.  
III. That the said Lord Chief Justice, after the said Trial of the said Sir George Wakeman and others, for High Treason as aforesaid, in the further abuse of the said Doctor Titus' Oats and Mr. William Bedlowe, and in their great disparagement, speaking of them, (said) That before the Trial of Sir George Wakeman (meaning the aforesaid Trial) the Witnesses, (meaning the said Doctor Titus Oats and Mr. William Bedlowe) were to be believed; But that at and after the said Trial they were not to be believed by him, nor should not be believed by him; or to that very Effect.  
iv That the said Lord Chief Justice, by colour of his Office hath taken upon him the power to Oppress by Imprisoning his Majesty's Loyal Subjects; namely, Henry Care, for the writing and causing to be printed divers Single-sheet Books in English, called The Packet of Advice from Rome, for the Information and discovering of the Idolatries, Errors and Impieties of the Romish Church, to his Majesty's Loyal and Obedient Protestant Subjects, (in this Juncture of Affairs very useful) although the said Lord Chief Justice neither did nor could allege or charge the said Care with any thing contained in the said Book, that was any way Criminal, or derogatory to his Majesty, his Laws, Crown and Dignity, and refused to take very good Bail for him, though offered, and afterwards less Bail taken for him upon his Habeas Corpus in Court, but by the said Lord Chief Justice his means he was continued bound all the Term, and to his Good Behaviour, and at the end thereof until the next Term, although no particular Crime was or could be proved against him, or laid to his charge.  
V That to the great Oppression of his Majesty's Loyal Subjects, he the said Lord Chief Justice, contrary to Law, and manifest breach of his Oath, hath without any reasonable cause imprisoned a Feme Covert, and also divers other his Majesties said Subjects, and refused to take Bail though tendered, and the matter Bailable, as in the Case of Mrs. Jane Curtis, Mr. Francis Smith, etc.  
VI That the said Lord Chief Justice is very much addicted to Swearing and Cursing in his common Discourse, and to Drink to Excess, to the great disparagement of the Dignity and Gravity of his said place: He did in his common Discourse at Dinner, at a Gentleman's house of Quality, publicly and openly use and utter many Oaths and Curses, and there drank to Excess.  
VII. That Charles Price being accused upon Oath before him the said Lord Chief Justice, to be a Popish Priest and Jesuit, and imprisoned for the same, and also divers other persons accused upon Oath for High Treason, he the said Lord Chief Justice upon Bail delivered, without consulting his Majesty's Council or his Witnesses, and against their consents, divers of which said persons have not since appeared, but have forfeited their Recognizances, and the persons not to be found.  
VIII. That the said Lord Chief Justice, to the great discouragement of his Majesty's Loyal Protestant Subjects, and to the manifest encouragement of the Roman Catholic Subjects, when Informations have been duly and legally given to him, of the Abode or Person of any Popish Priest or Jesuit, he hath in a slighting and scornful manner refused the same, and bid the Informer go to Sir William Waller who busied himself in such matters mainly.  
IX. That at the Trial of Knox and Lane at the Bar of the King's Bench Court, for their Misdemeanour in endeavouring to take away the Credit of Doctor Titus Oats and Mr. William Bedlowe, two of the principal Witnesses for his Majesty, in the proving of the Conspiracy and Conspirators against his Majesty's Life, the Government of the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, the Destruction of the Protestants and the Protestant Religion, and introducing and settling of Popery there; although the Evidence was so full and clear against them, that the Jury found them Guilty without going from the Bar, yet the said Lord Chief Justice in further disparagement and disparaging of the Evidence of the said Doctor Titus' Oats and Mr. William Bedlowe, would not nor did not give any Charge to the said Jury therein, but risen up suddenly after the Evidence closed by the Council, and left the said Court abruptly, before the said Jury had given in the same.  
X That the said Lord Chief Justice knowing that one William Osborn was in the Conspiracy and contrivance with the said Knox and Lane (in the last Article mentioned) to take away the Credit of the said Doctor Titus' Oats and Mr. William Bedlow; And knowing the said Doctor Titus Oates and Mr. William Bedlowe to be material Witnesses for his Majesty in proving of the Conspiracy and Conspirators in the said last Article mentioned; And had been so against several of the said Conspirators that had been tried, and were to be so against several others of the said Conspirators that were impeached or accused for the said high Treason, and were to be tried for the same; and knowing the said William Osburn had been detected before the Lords in Parliament assembled for his said Conspiracy and contrivance with the said Knox and Lane, and that by his own Oath thereupon denying the fact in their said Conspiracy and Contrivance to be true; Yet out of his Malice to the said Doctor Titus Oates and Mr. William Bedlowe, and in as much as in him lay, to endeavour the disparagement if not the suppressing of the further discovery of that hellish and damnable Plot, he the said Lord Chief Justice without the knowledge consent or approbation of his Majesty or any of his Learned Council in the Law, or the said Doctor Titus' Oats or Mr. William Bedlowe, did voluntarily give the said William Osborn liberty to make an Affidavit before him upon Oath of the truth of the said Fact he had before as aforesaid denied upon his Oath, with intent that the same might be made use of against the said Doctor Titus Oates and Mr. William Bedlowe, to their disparagement, and the apparent prejudice of his Majesty against the said Conspirators in the said High Treason.  
That the said Lord Chief Justice to manifest his slighting Opinion of the Evidence of the said Doctor Titus' Oats and Mr. Bedlowe, in the presence of his Sacred Majesty and the Right Honourable the Lords and others of his Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council, did dare to say, That he had thought Doctor Titus' Oats and Mr. William Bedlowe always had an Accusation ready against any Body.  
That at the last Assize holden at Monmouth, the said Lord Chief Justice in the presence of several Justices of the Peace for the said County, did say to Mr. William Bedlowe, that he did believe in his Conscience that Richard Langhorn whom he condemned, died wrongfully, to the great disparagement of his Majesty's Crown and Dignity, the Justice of the Court, the Jury and Evidence.  
That the said Lord Chief Justice, contrary to the Dignity of his Place, did make Merchandise of the Trials of certain Priests to be tried in Stafford-shire, and took Twenty Guinnies in Earnest, and then sold the said Trials to other persons, refusing to return the said Twenty Guinnies to those from whom he received them: And furthermore, before the Trial of Sir George Wakeman, he the said Lord Chief Justice did bargain with two Booksellers for one hundred and fifty Guinnies for them to print the Trials, and in case they would not lay down the Money before he went into the Court, he would not go into the Court, but would go into the Country: And if the said Trial by reason of its length could not be finished in one day, he would have one hundred Guinnies more; or words to that very Effect.   

London, Printed for Richard Janeway, 1680.