 The proceedings opened with the reading of various letters patents in order to make clear that the Duke of Norfolk was indeed Hereditary Earl Marshal and that he had appointed Lord Goddard, who was the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, as his lieutenant in the court.It also had ruled that the Earl Marshal was allowed to sit in judgement without the Lord High Constable of England, an office which until 1521 was also held as a hereditary dignity by the Dukes of Buckingham.The case itself was that the Palace theatre had been displaying the arms of the Manchester Corporation (now Manchester City Council) both inside and on its seal and this usage implied that it was linked with the city's council.