assizes
Traveling court sessions
Assizes were periodic court sessions held in English counties, where judges traveled from London to hear serious criminal and civil cases.
The system, abolished in 1971, distributed royal justice throughout England and Wales.
The term appears in historical and legal contexts: The prisoner awaited the next assizes.
In some jurisdictions, assize retains technical legal meanings related to standards or regulations.
Legal decision-making body
- barristerUK courtroom advocate
- solicitorDocument-drafting legal professional
- magistrateCivil judicial officer
- plaintiffCivil case initiator
defendant · counsel · summons · subpoena · testimony · evidence · cross-examination · prosecution
Legal decision-making body
- acquittalFormal clearing of charges
- convictionFirmly held belief
- guiltyResponsible for wrongdoing
- innocentFree from moral wrong
sentence · deliberation · unanimous · foreman · finding · determination · judgment · ruling
Closed electrical pathway
- sheriffCounty's chief officer
- gaolPlace of incarceration
- shireEnglish administrative district
- countyLocal administrative division
bailiff · commission · itinerant · grand jury · indictment · felony · capital offences · hanging judge
jury
Legal decision-making body
- barristerUK courtroom advocate
- solicitorDocument-drafting legal professional
- magistrateCivil judicial officer
plaintiff · defendant · counsel · summons · subpoena · testimony · evidence · cross-examination · prosecution · defense
jury
Legal decision-making body
- acquittalFormal clearing of charges
- convictionFirmly held belief
- guiltyResponsible for wrongdoing
innocent · sentence · deliberation · unanimous · foreman · finding · determination · judgment · ruling · pronouncement
circuit
Closed electrical pathway
county · bailiff · commission · itinerant · grand jury · indictment · felony · capital offences · hanging judge