Mainprise is a concept in
English law
English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...
regarding releasing a prisoner from custody upon
sureties pending
trial. It is nearly identical to the idea of
bail and has been absorbed into the laws regulating bail in many jurisdictions. When they were distinguished, bail was not restricted in the type of surety upon which a prisoner could be released, while mainprise always involved a specified sum of money. A prisoner released on bail was still technically in custody and could be re-seized, while one delivered on mainprise was no longer in custody and could not have suits brought against him as though he were.
[ Matthew Hale, '' Historia Placitorum Coronae'' (London, 1736), 124–25]
Google Books
/ref>
References
English criminal law
Imprisonment and detention
{{law-term-stub