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coupon rate See INTEREST RATE.

coupon rate 1. The specific interest rate for a coupon bond. Also termed coupon interest rate. See coupon bond under BOND (3). 2. See nominal rate.

coupon security A security with detachable interest coupons that the holder must present for payment as they mature. Coupon securities are usu. in denominations of $1,000, and they are negotiable.

coupon security See SECURITY.

coupon yield See YIELD.

cour de cassation See COURT OF CASSATION.

courier A messenger, esp. one who delivers parcels, packages, and the like. In international law, the term denotes a messenger duly authorized by a sending state to deliver a diplomatic pouch.

course of business The normal routine in managing a trade or business. - Also termed ordinary course of business; regular course of business; ordinary course; regular course.

course of dealing An established pattern of conduct between parties in a series of transactions (e.g., multiple sales of goods over a period of years). If a dispute arises, the parties' course of dealing can be used as evidence of how they intended to carry out the transaction. Cf. COURSE OF PERFORMANCE; trade usage under USAGE. "A course of dealing is distinguishable from a course of performance. As defined by the [UCC], 'course of dealing' relates to conduct under other transactions which occurred with regularity prior to the formation of the present contract, while 'course of performance' relates to the conduct of the parties under the contract in question subsequent to its formation. However, in meaning the two expressions are essentially equivalent." Ronald A. Anderson, Uniform Commercial Code § 1-205:86 (1997).

course of employment Events that occur or circumstances that exist as a part of one's employment; esp., the time during which an employee furthers an employer's goals through employer-mandated directives. Cf. SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT; ZONE OF EMPLOYMENT.

course of performance A sequence of previous performance by either party after an agreement has been entered into, when a contract involves repeated occasions for performance and both parties know the nature of the performance and have an opportunity to object to it. A course of performance accepted or acquiesced in without objection is relevant to determining the meaning of the agreement. Cf. COURSE OF DEALING; trade usage under USAGE. "[C]ommon law courts have recognized the necessity of learning how people usually talk and what they usually mean by their language before one interprets their contracts .... '[C]ourse of performance' refers to a pattern of performance of the contract that is the subject of the dispute, as contrasted to 'course of dealing' which refers to the pattern of performance in prior contracts between the same parties." Claude Rohwer & Gordon D. Schaber, Contracts in a Nutshell 171-73 (4th ed. 1997). ''The phrase 'course of performance' relates to the way the parties have acted in performance of the particular contract in question. The judicial inquiry on this point is limited to the way the parties have acted in carrying out the particular contract that is in controversy, as distinguished from a general pattern of dealing that may embrace many other contracts or transactions between the parties." Ronald A. Anderson, Uniform Commercial Code § 1-205:74 (1997).

course of trade See trade usage under USAGE.

court 1. A governmental body consisting of one or more judges who sit to adjudicate disputes and administer justice <a question oflaw for the court to decide>. "A court ... is a permanently organized body, with independent judicial powers defined by law, meeting at a time and place fixed by law for the judicial public administration of justice." 1 Williamj. Hughes, Federal Practice, Jurisdiction & Procedure § 7, at 8 (1931). 2. "The judge or judges who sit on such a governmental body <the court asked the parties to approach the bench>. 3. A legislative assembly <in Massachusetts, the General Court is the legislature>. 4. The locale for a legal proceeding <an out-of-court statement>. 5. The building where the judge or judges convene to adjudi cate disputes and administer justice <the lawyers agreed to meet at the court at 8:00 a.m.>. - Also termed (in sense 5) courthouse.

court of oyer and terminer and general gaol delivery 1. A court that carries the commissions of oyer and terminer and gaol delivery. See COMMISSION OF OYER AND TERMINER; COMMISSION OF GAOL DELIVERY. 2. In Pennsylvania, a court of criminal jurisdiction.

court a quo (ay kwoh). A court from which a case has been removed or appealed.

court a quo- See COURT.

court above A courtto which a case is appealed.Also termed higher court; upper court.

court administrator An official who supervises the nonjudicial functions of a court, esp. the court's calendar, judicial assignments, budget, and nonjudicial personnel.

court administrator- See ADMINISTRATOR (1).

court appointed special advocates A federally funded program in which trained laypersons act on behalf of children in abuse and neglect cases. The CAS A program began in 1977 in Seattle, Washington. In 1989, the American Bar Association endorsed using a combination of CASA volunteers and attorneys in abuse and neglect cases. CASA volunteers are sanctioned by the ABA as permissible guardians ad litem. Abbr. CASA.

court baron A manorial court that had jurisdiction over amounts in controversy of 40 shillings or less. According to some authorities, the court baron developed into two courts: the customary court baron for disputes involving copyholders, and the court baron proper (also known as the freeholders' court baron), in which freeholders were allowed to hold court concerning minor disputes. - Also termed freeholder's court baron. "In Coke's day it was said that the lord of a manor had one court, 'a court baron,' for his freeholders and another court, 'a customary court,' for his copyholders, and that in the latter the lord or his steward was the judge. Now over his unfree men the lord had, according to the law of the king's court, almost unlimited power; short of maiming them he might do what he liked with them; and every tenant of an unfree tenement was a tenant at will. Nevertheless in the court rolls and the manuals for stewards which come to us from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries we cannot discover two courts or two methods of constituting the court. Freeholders and serfs are said to owe suit to the same halimoot, and so far as we can see, the curia which pronounces judgment is always the same body." 1 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of Eng/ish Law Before the Time of Edward / 593 (2d ed. 1898).

court below A trial court or intermediate appellate court from which a case is appealed. Also termed lower court.

court below- See COURT.

court calendar See COURT CALENDAR.

court calendar- A list of matters scheduled for trial or hearing; DOCKET (2).

court christian See ecclesiastical court.

court christian- See ecclesiastical court under COURT.

court clinic A medical clinic, established for the benefit of the courts, to which a judge may send a defendant for psychiatric evaluation or, esp. in the case of a juvenile, to explore why the defendant committed the offense and what treatment is appropriate. "Court Clinics have developed in two ways: one, in which the clinic has its own social workers to take case histories and to investigate the past of the offenders, and the second is when the Clinic utilizes the probation department as historians and as therapists. In both types of clinics, a history is taKen. appropriate psychological tests are given to the offender, with particular reference to his intelligence, and a physical examination and a psychiatric examination are made. Usually these clinics have a meeting in which the whole staff discuss the cases when a diagnosis is made and. finally a report is sent to the referring judge, informing him as to the probable reason why the offender has committed the offense. the appropriate treatment if any is necessary, and the probably outcome of the case if the treatment procedures recommended are carried out." Encyclopedia of Criminology 79-80 (Vernon c. Branham & Samuel B. Kutash eds., 1949).

court commissioner An officer appointed by the court esp. to hear and report facts, or to conduct judicial sales.

court commissioner- See COMMISSIOKER.

court costs See COST (2).

court crier See CRIER (1).

court day See DAY.

court day- A day on which a particular court is open for court business. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a); Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a).

court de facto See de facto court.

court de facto- See de facto court under COURT.

court for consideration of crown cases reserved A court established in 1848 to review questions of law arising in criminal cases. Trial judges posed the postverdict questions of law to the Court, which decided whether error had been committed. The Court was abolished in 1907, and its jurisdiction was transferred to the Court of Criminal Appeal. Also termed Court for Crown Cases Reserved. "It was an old practice for the judge, in case of a convic· tion, if he felt a doubt as to the law, to respite judgment or sentence, and discuss the matter informally with the other judges. If they thought that the prisoner had been improperly conVicted, he was pardoned. Statutory authority was given to this practice in 1848 by the establishment of the court for Crown Cases Reserved. All the judges were members of this court; and five, of whom the Lord Chief Justice must be one, formed a quorum." 1 William Holdsworth, A History of English Law 217 (7th ed. 1956).

court for divorce and matrimonial causes A court that exercised jurisdiction over family issues, such as legitimacy and divorce. The Court, which was established in 1857, acquired the matrimonial jurisdiction previously exercised by the ecclesiastical courts. It consisted of the Lord Chancellor, the Chief Justices of the Queen's Bench and Common Pleas, the Chief Baron of Exchequer, the senior puisne judges of the last three courts, and the Judge Ordinary. In most instances, the Judge Ordinary heard the cases. The Judicature Act of 1873 abolished the Court and transferred its jurisdic tion to the Probate Divorce and Admiralty Division (now Family Division) of the High Court of Justice.

court for the correction of errors A court having jurisdiction to review a lower court. The name was formerly used in New York and South Carolina.

court for the relief of Insolvent debtors A court located in London that had jurisdiction over bankruptcy matters. The Bankruptcy Act of 1861 abolished the Court.

court for the trial of impeachments A tribunal empowered to try a government officer or other person brought before it by the process of impeachment. The U.S. Senate and the British House of Lords have this authority, as do the upper houses of most state legislatures. Also termed impeachment court; court of impeachment.

court hand A script style used by English court derks, the words being abbreviated and contracted according to a set of common principles for maintaining brevity and uniformity. This type of writing, along with the use of Latin (except for technical or untranslatable phrases), was banned early in the 18th century in an effort to make court records more accessible to nonlawyers. "[T]echnical Latin continued in use from the time of its first introduction, till the subversion of our ancient constitution under Cromwell; when. among many other innovations in the law. some for the better and some for the worse, the language of our records was altered and turned into English. But, at the restoration of king Charles, this novelty was no longer countenanced; the practicers finding it very difficult to express themselves so conCisely or significantly in any other language but the Latin. And thus it continued without any sensible inconvenience till about the year 1730, when it was again thought proper that the proceedings at law should be done into English, and it was accordingly so ordered by statute 4 Geo. II. c. 26. .. What is said of the alteration of language by the statute 4 Geo. II. c. 26 will hold equally strong with respect to the prohibition of using the ancient immutable court hand in writing the records of other legal proceedings; whereby the reading of any record that is forty years old is now become the object of science, and calls for the help of an antiquarian." 3 William Blackstone. Commentaries on the Laws of England 322-23 (1768).

court lands The part ofa manor used for the lord's household. Also termed (in Latin) curtiles terrae.

court leet (kort leet). A feudal court responsible for frankpledges and notices of criminal accusations.o Courts leet exercised both governmental and judicial powers, but they declined in the 14th century after the justices in eyre began to take over serious criminal cases. The court met once or twice a year, and was presided over by the lord's steward, a lawyer who acted as judge.

court merchant A court of limited jurisdiction that decided controversies arising between merchants, dealers, shipmasters, supercargoes, and other, usu. transient, people connected with trade. Cases were usu. tried before a jury of merchants.

court merchant- See COURT.

court not of record See COURT.

court not of record- An inferior court that is not required to routinely make a record of each proceeding and usu. does not.

court of admiralty See HIGH COURT OF ADMIRALTY.

court of ancient demesne A court made up of freeholders ofland held by the Crown (Le., an ancient demesne). The freeholders acted as judges much the same way that freeholders of an ordinary manor would in a court baron. See ancient demesne under DEMESNE; COURT BARON.

court of appeal An English court of civil and criminal appellate jurisdiction established by the Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875. The court is made up of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls, President of the Family Division, Vice-Chancellor of the Chancery Division, former Lord Chancellors, Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, and Lords Justices of AppeaL In practice it is made up of the Master of Rolls and the Lords Justices. It sits in several divisions, each having three members.

court of appeal in chancery An English court of intermediate appeal in equity cases, established in 1851 and abolished in 1873-1875, when its jurisdiction was transferred to the Court of Appeal.

court of appeals 1. An intermediate appellate court. Also termed (as in California and England) court of appeal. See appellate court. 2. In New York and Maryland, the highest appellate court within the jurisdiction.

court of appeals- See COURT.

court of appeals for the armed forces See UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ARMED FORCES.

court of appeals for the federal circuit See UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT.

court of appeals for veterans claims The federal court that reviews decisions ofthe Board of Veterans Appeals.

court of appeals in cases of capture A court responsible for reviewing state-court decisions concerning British ships captured by American priva teers during the Revolution. Congress established the court under the Articles of Confederation. It was the first federal court in the United States and the chief United States court from 1780 to 1787. Cf. prize court under COURT.

court of appeals, u.s. See UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS.

court of archdeacon (ahrch-dee-kan). Hist. Eccles. law. An inferior ecclesiastical court that had jurisdiction over cases arising within the archdeaconry and probate matters. Appeal was to the Bishop's Court. The Court of Archdeacon was abolished in 1967. Also termed Archdeacon's Court; Archdiaconal Court (ahr-ka-di-ak-an-al).

court of arches The ecclesiastical court of the province of Canterbury, responsible for appeals from provincial diocesan courts The Pope heard appeals from the Court of Arches until the break with Rome prompted a transfer of the appellate jurisdiction to the Court of Delegates. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council now hears certain appeals from the Court of Arches. Also termed Arches Court of Canterbury; Court ofCanterbury; Court of the Official Principal. Cf. CHANCERY COURT OF YORK. 'The Court of Arches is the provincial court of the Arch· bishop of Canterbury. It is held by ajudge generally called the Dean of the Arches. Its jurisdiction was important while testamentary cases were dealt with in the Ecclesi· astical Courts. The name is derived from the fact that the court was originally held in the Church of St. Mary-ie-BOW (Ecciesia Beatae Mariae de Arcubus), the steeple of which is raised on stone pillars formed archwise like bent bows." W.J.v. Windeyer, Lectures on Legal Historv 184 n.11 (2d ed. 1949).

court of assistants A colonial body organized in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 to act as a legislature and court for the colony. Cf. GENERAL COURT. 'The court of assistants, made up of governor, deputy governor, and magistrates, heard appeals from lower courts, and took original jurisdiction in certain cases for example, cases of divorce. Below it were the county courts." Lawrence M. Friedman, A History ofAmerican Law 40 (2d ed. 1985).

court of attachments An inferior forest court with jurisdiction over trespasses of the royal forests. The judges of this court (the verderers) met every 40 days to hear charges made by the royal foresters. Major trespass cases were heard by the justices in eyre. Also termed wood-mote;forty-days court. See VERDERER.

court of audience Eccles. law. A court in which the Archbishop of York or Canterbury exercised personal jurisdiction. This court was abolished in 1963. just as the bishop did not deprive himself of all jurisdiction by delegation to an official or commissary, so the arch· bishop did not originally deprive himself of all jurisdic· tion by delegation to the official principal. He possessed a jurisdiction concurrent with that of the court of the Arches, which was exercised in the court of Audience. In later times this jurisdiction was exercised by the judge of the court of Audience. At one time the archbishop may have exercised a considerable part of this jurisdiction in this court." 1 William Holdsworth, A History of English Law 601 (7th ed. 1956).

court of augmentations A court established in 1536 by Henry VIII to determine controversies arising from the royal policy of taking over property owned by monasteries. The court was merged into the Court of Exchequer in 1554.

court of canterbury See COURT OF ARCHES.

court of cassation (ka-say-shan). The highest court of France. The court's name derives from its power to quash (casser) the decrees of inferior courts. Also termed (more formally) Cour de Cassation.

court of chancery See CHANCERY (1).

court of chivalry See HIGH COURT OF CHIVALRY.

court of chivalry- See HIGH COURT OF CHIVALRY.

court of civil appeals An intermediate appellate court in some states, such as Alabama and (formerly) Texas.

court of claims A court with the authority to hear claims made against a state (or its political subdivision) for cases in which the state has waived sovereign immunity. Also termed claims court. See UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS.

court of claims- 1. See COURT. 2. (cap.) See UNITED STATES COCRT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS.

court of common pleas 1. Hist. A superior court having jurisdiction of all real actions and common pleas (i.e., actions between subjects). The Court was presided over by a chief justice with four (later five) puisne judges. In 1873 it became the Common Pleas Division of the High Court ofJustice. In 1881 it merged into the Queen's Bench Division. 2. An intermediatelevel court in some states, such as Arkansas. 3. A trial court ofgeneral jurisdiction in some states, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. - Also termed Court of Common Bench. - Abbr. c.P. "Common pleas is the kings Court now held in Westminster hall, but in auncient time moveable, as appeareth by the statute called Magna charta . ... [U]ntill the time that Henry the third granted the great charter, there were but two courts in all, called the Kings courts: whereof one was the Exchequer, and the other, the kings bench, which was then called (curia Domini regis) and (aula regis) because it followed the court or king: and that upon the grant of that charter, the court of common pleas was erected and setled in one place certaine: viz. at Westminster . ... All civil I causes both reall and personall are, or were in former times, tryed in this court, according to the strict lawe of the realme: and by Fortescue, cap. 50 it seemeth to have bene the onely court for reall causes." John Cowell, The Interpreter (1607) .

court of competent jurisdiction See COURT.

court of conscience A local English court that had jurisdiction over small-debt cases. The court was so called because its judgments were supposed to reflect equity and good conscience. County courts assumed the jurisdiction of the courts of conscience in 1846.

court of convocation Eccles. law. An assembly of high ranking provincial officials and representatives of the lower clergy haVing jurisdiction over cases of heresy, schism, and other ecclesiastical matters.

court of criminal appeals 1. For each armed service, an intermediate appellate court that reviews court-martial decisions. The court was established by the Military Justice Act of 1968. 10 USCA §§ 859-876. Formerly termed Court of Military Review (abbr. CMR). 2. In some jurisdictions, such as Texas and Oklahoma, the highest appellate court that hears criminal cases.

court of customs and patent appeals An Article III court created in 1929 to hear appeals in customs and patent cases. This court was abolished in 1982 and was superseded by the V.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Abbr. CCPA. See UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT.

court of delegates A court serving as the final court of appeal for admiralty and ecclesiastical matters. The Court was established in 1534 to serve in the stead of the Papal Curia when the English Church severed its ties with the Papacy. Six delegates, appointed to hear only one case, made up the Court, usu. three persons trained in common law and three in civil law. This mixture led to confused rulings and unreliable precedents that hindered the Court's credibility and ultimately led to its dissolution. The Court was abolished in 1833 and its jurisdiction transferred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Also termed High Court ofDelegates. "The crown had an absolute discretion as to the person to be appointed. But, as the lawyers of Doctors' Commons were the only lawyers acquainted with canon or civil law, certain of them were usually included in the commission .... It is not surprising to find that the [Court of Delegates] was unsatisfactory. It was a shifting body, so that no general rules of procedure could be established. It did not as a rule give reasons for its decisions. Its members were only paid a guinea a day: and consequently it was usually composed of the junior civilians. On them, the judges of the common law courts, appointed as delegates, were obliged to rely for their law. In consequence of the dissatisfaction felt at its working the EccleSiastical Commission of 1832, in a special report, recommended the transfer of its jurisdiction to the Privy Council ...." 1 William Holdsworth, A History of English Law 605 (7th ed. 1956).

court of domestic relations See family court.

court of domestic relations- See family court under COURT.

court of Earl marshaI 1. See COURT OF THE LORD HIGH CONSTABLE AND EARL MARSHAL. 2. See HIGH COURT OF CHIVALRY.

court of equity A court that (1) has jurisdiction in equity, (2) administers and decides controversies in accordance with the rules, principles, and precedents of equity, and (3) follows the forms and procedures of chancery. Cf. court of law.

court of equity- See COURT.

court of error 1. Formerly, the Court of Exchequer Chamber and the House of Lords. Appeals from common-law courts lay to the Court of Exchequer Chamber, and then to the House of Lords until 1873, when the Judicature Act gave jurisdiction of superiorcourt appeals to the Court of AppeaL Cf. COURT OF EXCHEQUER CHAMBER. 2. Generally, a court having jurisdiction to review a lower court's rulings.

court of errors and appeals Formerly, the court of last resort in New Jersey and New York. Also termed High Court ofErrors and Appeals.

court of exchequer (eks-chek-ar or eks-chek-ar). A former English superior court responsible primarily for adjudicating disputes about the collection of public revenue. In 1873 it became the Exchequer Division of the High Court of Justice. In 1881 that Division was merged into the Queen's Bench Division. See QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION. Cf. CHAMBER OF ACCOUNTS.

court of exchequer chamber 1. An informal assembly of common-law judges who (sometimes with the Lord Chancellor) gathered to discuss important cases that had adjourned pending an opinion from the Court. This body never became a court of law in a technical sense, but judges gave great weight to its decisions. The last reported decision of this body is from 1738. "Earlier than these two statutory courts was the practice, which apparently originated about the time of Edward I, of informal meetings of the judges in the Exchequer Chamber to decide matters connected with litigation.... The purpose ofthe meeting was to bring before the judges a point of law which caused difficulty and which had arisen in a case being heard before one or other of the courts. Any resolution passed did not constitute ajudgment; it was left to the court concerned to make the appropriate decree, and the official record made no reference to the informal decision.... Civil cases were debated in the Exchequer Chamber as late as the seventeenth century, and criminal cases continued to be 'reserved' for full discussion by all the common law judges until the nineteenth century." A.K.R. Kiralfy, Potter's Outlines of English Legal History 202-04 (5th ed. 1958). 2. A court created by statute in 1357 to hear appeals from the Court of Exchequer. 3. A court created by statute in 1585 to hear appeals from the King's Bench. This court consisted ofall the justices of the Common Pleas and the Barons of Exchequer who were serjeants. At least six judges were necessary to render a judgment.

court of faculties An archbishop's tribunal that grants special dispensations (such as a marriage license) and decides questions relating to monuments and mortuary matters. See MASTER OF THE FACULTIES.

court of federal claims, u.s See UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS.

court of final appeal 1. See court of last resort. 2. Eccles. law. (cap.) JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL.

court of final appeal- See COURT.

court of first instance See trial court.

court of first instance- See trial court under COURT.

court of general jurisdiction A court having unlimited or nearly unlimited trial jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases. Also termed generaljurisdiction court.

court of General quarter sessions of the peace 1. English law. A court of criminal jurisdiction held in each county (or borough) once in every quarter of a year. The court was made up of a county's justices of the peace. It committed certain cases to the Assizes. Quarter Sessions were abolished in 1971, with most jurisdiction transferred to the Crown Court. Often shortened to Quarter Sessions; Sessions. "The court of general quarter sessions of the peace is a court that must be held in every county, once in every quarter of a year .... It is held before two or more justices of the peace, one of which must be of the quorum. The jurisdiction of this court, by statute 34 Edw. III. c. I. extends to the trying and determining all felonies and trespasses whatsoever, though they seldom, if ever, try any greater offence than small felonies within the benefit of clergy ...." 4 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 268 (1769). 2. A court held in some states four times a year with jurisdiction over misdemeanors and occasionally tasks of an administrative nature, such as the care of public roads and bridges. - Often shortened to Quarter Sessions Court. Also termed Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace.

court of geueral jurisdiction See COURT.

court of gigh commission Eccles. law. A tribunal responsible for inquiring into religious offenses such as the holding of heretical opinions, and absence from church. Functioning as a court, the High Commission also prosecuted violations of the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity (1559), the statutes that gave the Crown supreme power over the Church of England. The Commission's broad powers and use of civil-law procedures in wavs counter to the common law (such as compelling suspects to testify against themselves) sparked opposition to its existence. Its close relationship with the Court of Star Chamber hastened its demise (along with the Star Chamber) in 1641. Also termed High Commission Court. "[T]The court of the king's high commission in causes ecclesiastical .. was intended to vindicate the dignity and peace of the churCh, by reforming, ordering, and correcting the ecclesiastical state and persons, and all manner of errors, hereSies, schisms, abuses, offences, contempts, and enormities. Under the shelter of which very general words, means were found in that and the two succeeding reigns, to vest in the high commissioners extraordinary and almost despotic powers, of fining and imprisoning; which they exerted much beyond the degree of the offence itself, and frequently over offences by no means of spiritual cognizance. For these reasons this court was justly abolished by Statute 16 Car. I, c. 11. And the weak and illegal attempt that was made to revive it, during the reign of King James the second, served only to hasten that infatuated prince's ruin." 3 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 67-68 (1768).

court of great sessions in wales A common-law court established in 1543 in Wales with jurisdiction equivalent to that of the English assizes. The Court of Great Sessions was bound to follow English law, but not necessarily English case precedent. Also termed King's Great Sessions in Wales. 'There was no outcry when, in 1536, 'the sinister usages and customs' of the Welsh were abrogated and Welsh subjects were granted the same laws and liberties as the English .. , . A new system of courts, called the Great Sessions in Wales, was set up. The courts were to sit twice a year in four circuits, each comprising three counties, and to each circuit were appointed justices 'learned in the laws of this realm'. These courts operated alongside the English courts, and they had the same jurisdiction in Wales as the King's Bench and Common Pleas had in England .... In 1830 the Great Sessions were abolished, and by complete procedural assimilation England and Wales became at last one unified jurisdiction, two extra circuits being added to the English assize system." J.H. Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History 37-38 (3d ed. 1990).