On 12 July 1453, the king and council announced a commission of Oyer and Terminer, which was headed by the earls of Salisbury and Northumberland themselves. This was however, reformed two weeks later; Griffiths has speculated that this was probably because not only was it not big enough to deal with such a serious collapse in law and order, but also the commissioners themselves 'were not very effective.’ Another weakness of this commission, he suggests, is the fact that it was composed with a number of Neville retainers; thus displaying a clear partisanship which would have been obvious to the Percys, and further reduce their faith in the crown's ability—or desire—to achieve a fair settlement.