Fines went to the king, and were a source of revenue; and if the amounts of the fines had been left to be fixed by the king, he would have had a pecuniary temptation to impose unreasonable and oppressive ones.
Spooner discusses the potential for the king to impose unfair fines if he were allowed to set their amounts.
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And nobody is bound to take the least notice of them, unless it be to trample them under foot, as usurpations.
That the legislation of the king was of no authority over a jury, is further proved by the oath taken by the kings at their coronation.
They cannot claim or expect that the whole people shall practise the folly of taking on trust their pretended superior knowledge, and of committing blindly into their hands all their own interests, liberties, and rights, to be disposed of…
There is no more absurdity in giving a jury a veto upon the laws, than there is in giving a veto to each of these other tribunals.