quarter sessions

noun, Law.
1.
an English court of general criminal jurisdiction for crimes less than homicide, held quarterly.
2.
(in the U.S.) a court with limited criminal jurisdiction, having local administrative powers in some states.
Origin
1570-80
British Dictionary definitions for quarter sessions

quarter sessions

noun (functioning as singular or pl)
1.
(in England and Wales, formerly) a criminal court held four times a year before justices of the peace or a recorder, empowered to try all but the most serious offences and to hear appeals from petty sessions. Replaced in 1972 by crown courts See also crown court Compare assizes
2.
(in Scotland, formerly) a court held by justices of the peace four times a year, empowered to hear appeals from justice of the peace courts and to deal with some licensing matters: abolished in 1975
Encyclopedia Article for quarter sessions

formerly, in England and Wales, sessions of a court held four times a year by a justice of the peace to hear criminal charges as well as civil and criminal appeals. The term also applied to a court held before a recorder, or judge, in a borough having a quarter sessions separate from that of the county in which the borough was situated. Under the Courts Act of 1971, all of the quarter-sessions courts were abolished, and their work was assumed by a system of courts called the Crown Court.

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