Rubin v. Green

Opinion

ARABIAN, J.

At common law, barratry was “the offense of frequently exciting and stirring up suits and quarrels” (4 Blackstone, Commentaries 134) and was punished as a misdemeanor. A statutory version of the crime survives today, although it is seldom prosecuted, perhaps because of the requirement that the proof show the defendant “excited” at least three groundless suits “with a corrupt or malicious intent to vex and annoy.” (Pen. Code, §§ 158, 159.)

The modern successor of common law barratry, solicitation, is not only, a misdemeanor when accomplished through the use of agents, but is…