 The case of R v Baillie , a prosecution for criminal libel , opened on 23 November 1778 at 1 pm before Lord Mansfield , the Lord Chief Justice , in the Court of King 's Bench . Prior to this , Baillie and his counsel had been debating how to respond to the case ; Bearcroft , Peckham , Murphy and Hargrave advocated negotiating a settlement before it went to trial , while Erskine urged them to argue Baillie 's case before the court and eventually succeeded in convincing Baillie that this was the right thing to do . The case opened with an address by Sir John Scott , the Solicitor General for England and Wales , who was prosecuting Baillie , followed by " long , dreary " speeches by Bearcroft , Peckham , Murphy and Hargrave , defending him . An illness that befell Hargrave caused several interruptions to the proceedings , and as a result darkness had fallen by the time he finished speaking . Lord Mansfield announced that rather than dragging the proceedings out late into the night , the court session would end for the evening and resume the next morning , when Erskine would have his chance to speak . Erskine recognised this as a great opportunity , as it would present him with a refreshed court the following day , rather than an exhausted one ; he said later that he " always blessed God for the providential [ illness ] of Hargrave " . 
