 An equilibrium between the courts was eventually reached , but the result was three common law courts ( the Exchequer of Pleas , Common Pleas and King 's Bench ) with near @-@ identical jurisdictions . By the 18th century , it was customary to speak of the " twelve justices " of the three courts , not distinguishing them , and assize cases were shared equally between them . In 1828 , Henry Brougham complained in Parliament that 
