Earl became criminal liable to incur fine (10)

I believe the answer is:

amerceable

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'liable to incur fine' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'earl became criminal' is the wordplay.
'criminal' indicates an anagram.
'earl'+'became'='earlbecame'
'earlbecame' is an anagram of 'AMERCEABLE'.

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I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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