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.
Eles abordaram o juiz mais poderoso, Lorde Mansfield, que era chefe dos juízes do tribunal do Banco do Rei, e exigiram que ele emitisse um mandado de habeas corpus em nome de James Somerset.