Lord Chief Justice John Holt ( the person trying to have the judge find Foxby guilty ) said this was not correct . He said that it was `` better ducking in aTrinity , than a Michaelmas term '' , meaning it was better that a person be ducked in summer than in winter . Lord Chief Justice John Holt of the Queen 's Bench apparently pronounced this error , for he announced that it was `` better ducking in a Trinity , than a Michaelmas term '' , i.e. better carried out in summer than in winter .