“ As lord chief justice Scroggs presided at the trial of the persons denounced by Titus Oates for complicity in the “popish plot,” and he treated these prisoners with characteristic violence and brutality, overwhelming them with indecent sarcasm and abuse while on their trial, and taunting them with savage mockery when sentencing them to death. He may at first have been a sincere believer in the existence of a plot ”

“ He was appointed a judge of the common pleas in 1676, and two years later was promoted to be lord, chief justice, his advancement being due to his unfailing readiness to degrade the administration of justice to serve the purposes of the court. He was a man of debauched life and coarse and violent manners ”

“ Acting in the assurance of popular sympathy, Oates and Bedloe now arraigned the chief justice before the privy council for having discredited their evidence and misdirected the jury in the Wakeman case, accusing him at the same time of several other misdemeanours on the bench, including a habit of excessive drinking and bad language." In January 1680 the case was argued before the council and Scroggs was acquitted. ”