DAUMIER, H. - La cour, vidant le déliberé,…

Second state (of 2), with text, numbered 4. From "Les Gens de Justice", published " Chez Auber & Cie, Pl. de la Bourse,29". Text below image : - "La cour, vidant le déliberé, et adjugeant le profit du défaut, met l' appellation, et ce dont est appel au néant, emendant quant à ce, corrigeant réformant la sentence des premiers juges, décharge l'appelant, condamne l'intimé aux dépens de l'incident; dont distraction au profit de Me. Bizotin avoué, qui la requiert pour le surplus des fins de la demande, met les parties hors de cause et les renvoie dos a dos dépens compensés" . . . . . .
- Saperlotte quel jugement! . . . mon avoué va me demander au moins soixante quinze francs pour m'expliquer la chose! . . . . . . . .

( The Court, having weighed the evidence and apportioned the advantage accruing from the dereliction, abrogates the appeal and all similar procedures, discharges the appellant and amends the judgement of the lower Court in respect to the costs of the respondent, with the exception of a forfeiture payment to Advocate Bizotin in respect of the final judgement, and hereby dismisses both parties as aforementioned.
- My God, what a verdict..... my lawyer will ask for at least seventy five francs to explain this to me.....)

Around the mid-1840s Daumier started publishing his famous caricatures depicting members of the legal profession, known as 'Les Gens de Justice', a scathing satire about judges, defendants, attorneys and corrupt, greedy lawyers in general. A number of extremely rare albums appeared on white paper, covering 39 different legal themes, of which 37 had previously been published in the Charivari. It is said that Daumier's own experience as an employee in a bailiff's office during his youth may have influenced his rather negative attitude towards the legal profession.

Known chiefly as a political and social satirist, Honoré DAUMIER (1808-1879) used the printmaking process of lithography, still relatively new at the time, to contribute cartoons and caricatures to French news weeklies.