“[H]e [Viscount Simonds] approved the assertion of Lord Mansfield two centuries before that the Court of King’s Bench was the custos morum of the people and had the superintendency of offences contra bonos mores.” Patrick Devlin, The Enforcement of Morals 88 (1968).
custos morum
custos morum (k[schwa]s-tahs mor-[schwa]m). [Law Latin] Custodian of morals (H.L.A. Hart believed that courts should not be seen as the custos morum). • This name was sometimes used in reference to the Court of King’s Bench.