As has been seen, the longest and most detailed part of the Statute of Marlborough was the chapter dealing with the use of distraint in securing the performance of suit to seignorial courts. This had also been true of the earlier Provisions of Westminster of 1259. Other chapters, too, were concerned with abuses connected with the workings of local, non-royal courts: attempts to enforce attendance at the sheriff's tourn (and at the view of frankpledge) from those who should have been exempt from this; attempts to enforce payment of beaupleder fines from those with a duty to present offences at such sessions; the use of distraint to secure the appearance of defendants to answer in local courts who were not subject to the jurisdiction of those particular courts. There were also a number of other chapters concerned with remedying other perceived abuses in the operation of local courts. These covered sheriffs allowing the release of those convicted of redisseisin in the county court without specific authorisation from the king and payment of the necessary fine (chapter 8); lords hearing pleas of false judgment in their courts (chapter 19); lords and sheriffs compelling those essoined in local courts to warrant their essoins on oath (chapter 20); the failure of sheriffs to secure the release of the animals taken in distraint that were held in franchises after a plaint had been made to them about this (chapter 21); lords forcing their free tenants to answer for their free tenements in their courts without prior authorisation by a royal writ or putting them on oath (as jurors) in their courts against their will without prior royal authorisation (chapter 23).