The public feeling was at its height, constantly over-excited by the rumors circulated during the sessions of the court.

Opinion was hostile to the queen.

"It was for her and by her orders that the necklace was bought," people said.
The houses of Conde and Rohan were not afraid to take sides with the cardinal: these illustrious personages were to be seen, dressed in mourning, waiting for the magistrates on their way, in order to canvass them on their relative's behalf.

On the 31st of May, 1786, the court condemned Madame de la Motte to be whipped, branded, and imprisoned; they purely and simply acquitted Cardinal Rohan.

In its long and continual tussle with the crown, the Parliament had at last found the day of its revenge: political passions and the vagaries of public opinion had blinded the magistrates.
"As soon as I knew the cardinal's sentence, I went to the queen," says Madame Campan.