 The Bill of Middlesex was a legal fiction used by the Court of King 's Bench to gain jurisdiction over cases traditionally in the remit of the Court of Common Pleas . Hinging on the King 's Bench 's remaining criminal jurisdiction over the county of Middlesex , the Bill allowed it to take cases traditionally in the remit of other common law courts by claiming that the defendant had committed trespass in Middlesex . Once the defendant was in custody , the trespass complaint would be quietly dropped and other complaints ( such as debt or detinue ) would be substituted . Part of a large reform movement to prevent equitable courts such as the Court of Chancery undermining their business , the Bill was far cheaper and faster than the older equivalents used by the Chancery and Common Pleas , leading to a drop in their business and an increase in that of the King 's Bench . As such , the Chancery issued injunctions in an ineffective attempt to prevent its use . The Bill was finally abolished by the Uniformity of Process Act 1832 . 
