Outsiders in Criminal Cases, All Years

When a plaintiff was an insider, by far the most common criminal charge against another insider was a matter connected to personal dignity (77.8% of the cases). With an insider plaintiff and an outsider defendant, charges related to property rights were the most common (67.3% of the cases). When the plaintiff’s residence was outside of the township, there was no difference in the kinds of charges he or she would bring against other outsiders or township residents. In both cases, an outsider plaintiff was the most likely to bring charges related to public welfare (60.6% of cases against insiders, 67.9% of cases against outsiders).

The cause of these differences may be connected to the types of interactions entailed by long-term residency in a village. Insiders interacted with each other personally on a daily basis over a long period of time; their charges concerning personal dignity had significance for their future standing in the settlement. When a village resident was suing an outsider, the case was more likely to concern property. (Newcomers to settlements could be tavern owners and thieves—or both!) Outsider plaintiffs were most likely to use local courts to bring public welfare charges. On these issues, see the discussions in chapters five and six.

Types of Criminal Cases and the Residence of the Parties, All Years

Plaintiff's Legal Residence			Types of Criminal Cases			Total
			Public Welfare	Personal Dignity	Property Rights
	Defendant's Legal Residence	Inside Township	24 14.4%	130 77.8%	13 7.8%	167
Inside Township		Outside Township	11 21.2%	6 11.5%	35 67.3%	52
	Total		35	136	48	219
			16.0%	62.1%	21.9%
	Defendant's Legal Residence	Inside Township	20 60.6%	5 15.2%	8 24.2%	33
Outside Township		Outside Township	55	10	16	81
			67.9%	12.3%	19.8%
	Total		75	15	24	114
			65.8%	13.2%	21.1%

Chi-Square Tests of Association, Types of Criminal Cases and the Residence of the Parties

Plaintiff's Legal Residence		Value	Df	Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Within Township	Pearson Chi-Square N	93.313 219	2	.000
Outside Township	Pearson Chi-Square N	.554 114	2	.758