They approached the most powerful judge, Lord Mansfield, who was chief judge of the court of King's Bench, and they demanded that he issue a common law writ of habeus corpus on behalf of James Somerset.
Es van acostar al jutge més poderós, Lord Mansfield que era magistrat  de la cort dels tribunals del rei, i li van demanar que emetés una ordre de dret comú d' habeas corpus a nom de James Somerset.