The best-known lettres de cachet, however, were penal, by which a subject was imprisoned without trial and without an opportunity of defense (after inquiry and due diligence by the lieutenant de police) in a state prison or an ordinary jail, confined in a convent or the General Hospital of Paris, transported to the colonies, or expelled to another part of the realm, or from the realm altogether. The lettres were mainly used against drunkards, troublemakers, prostitutes, squanderers of the family fortune, or insane persons. The wealthy sometimes petitioned such lettres to dispose of inconvenient individuals, especially to prevent unequal marriages (nobles with commoners), or to prevent a scandal (the lettre could prevent court cases that might otherwise dishonour a family).
The best-known lettres de cachet, however, were penal, by which a subject was imprisoned without trial and without an opportunity of defense (after inquiry and due diligence by the lieutenant de police) in a state prison or an ordinary jail, confined in a convent or the General Hospital of Paris, transported to the colonies, or expelled to another part of the realm, or from the realm altogether. The lettres were mainly used against drunkards, troublemakers, prostitutes, squanderers of the family fortune, or insane persons. The wealthy sometimes petitioned such lettres to dispose of inconvenient individuals, especially to prevent unequal marriages (nobles with commoners), or to prevent a scandal (the lettre could prevent court cases that might otherwise dishonour a family).