View source for Court of quarter sessions

{{Short description|Local court}}

{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=September 2022}}
{{original research|date=March 2023}}
{{globalise|date=March 2023}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox court
| court_name = Court of Quarter Sessions
| image = Image:Microcosm of London Plate 070 - Session House, Clerkenwell (tone).jpg
| caption = Middlesex Sessions House in 1810
| established = 1388
| dissolved = 1972
| appealsto = [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales]]
| appealsfrom = [[Magistrates' court (England and Wales)|Magistrates' Court]]
| jurisdiction = [[England and Wales]]
}}
The '''courts of quarter sessions''' or '''quarter sessions''' were local [[courts]] that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the [[Kingdom of England]] from 1388; they were extended to [[Wales]] following the [[Laws in Wales Act 1535]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Crime and Punishment|url=https://crimeandpunishment.library.wales/|website=National Library of Wales|accessdate=1 June 2021}}</ref> Scotland established quarter sessions in the 17th century.  Quarter sessions were also established in Ireland and British colonies overseas.

Quarter sessions generally sat in the [[county town|seat]] of each [[county]] and [[county borough]], and in numerous non-county [[municipal borough|boroughs]] which were entitled to hold their own quarter sessions, although some of the smaller boroughs lost theirs in 1951; these non-county boroughs were mainly, but not exclusively, [[ancient borough]]s.{{Sfn|Whitaker|1968|pp=465-466}}

In 1972, all quarter sessions were abolished in [[England and Wales]] with the commencement of the [[Courts Act 1971]], which replaced them and the [[assizes]] with a single permanent [[Crown Court]]. In Scotland, they survived until 1975, when they were abolished and replaced by [[District court (Scotland)|district court]]s and later by [[justice of the peace court]]s.

The quarter sessions were named after the [[quarter days]] on which they met in England and Wales from 1388. These days were later settled as [[Epiphany (feast)|Epiphany]], [[Easter]], [[Midsummer]], and [[Michaelmas]] sessions.

==Reputation==

Bentley notes in ''English Criminal Justice in the Nineteenth Century'' that "the reputation of such courts remained consistently bad throughout the century" due to failure by chairmen to take proper note of [[evidence]], display of open bias against prisoners, and the severity of sentences compared to the assizes. Chairmen of county sessions did not originally have to be legally qualified, though the jurisdiction of county quarter sessions was extended to cover a wider range of offences if they had appointed a legally-qualified chairman.<ref name =Archer/>{{rp|121}} From 1962 it was required that all chairmen had to be legally qualified. Occasionally [[County Court judge|County Court]] or [[High Court judge (England and Wales)|High Court]] judges accepted appointment, as it was a part-time one.<ref name =Archer/>{{rp|122}}

==Jurisdiction==

The quarter sessions generally heard crimes that could not be tried summarily by the [[justices of the peace]] without a jury in [[magistrates' court (England and Wales)|petty sessions]], which were sent up by the process of [[indictment]] to be heard in quarter sessions.<ref name =Archer/>{{rp|121}}

The quarter sessions did not have jurisdiction to hear the most serious crimes, most notably those subject to [[capital punishment]] or later [[life imprisonment]]. These crimes were sent for trial at the periodic [[assizes]].<ref name =Archer/>{{rp|121}}

=== Civil ===
The courts of quarter sessions, throughout, had a narrow civil jurisdiction; however, until the [[Local Government Act 1888]] created elected [[county council]]s, they also provided or authorised much major infrastructure and services that needed to span more than one [[vestries|vestry]] for their respective counties.

Most of such powers were delegated to committees, given specific responsibilities, of members &ndash; [[magistrate]]s. Most of these administrative functions were transferred to [[county council]]s when they were established in 1888.

These functions and powers included:

*Supervision of how the vestries (of each [[poor law parish]]) were administering the [[English Poor Laws]] before 1834
*Repair of [[road]]s and [[bridge]]s (and appointment of [[county surveyor]]s)
*Highway diversions and closure (stopping up of rights of way)
*Construction and maintenance of county buildings
**Administration of the county [[jail]](s)
*Supervision of public and private [[lunatic asylum]]s
*Supervision and organisation of [[petty sessions]] (more local sittings of the magistrates themselves)
*Licensing of [[public house]]s
*The county militia, particularly per the [[Militia Act 1802]] to contribute to an Old Militia to number, that year, 51,489 men in England and Wales and at times a "Supplementary Militia" of half as many again which could be raised with Parliamentary approval.
*The [[police]]
*Managing their finances mainly by setting county rates (see [[Rates in the United Kingdom]]), also borrowing and repaying when and how the law permitted such as against the security of a [[toll bridge]].

==Organisation==

The quarter sessions in each county were made up of two or more justices of the peace, presided over by a chairman, who sat with a [[jury]]. [[County borough]]s and other [[municipal borough|boroughs]] entitled to their own quarter sessions had a single [[recorder (judge)|recorder]] instead of a bench of justices.<ref name = Archer>{{cite book
	| last =Archer 
	| first =Peter
	| author-link =Peter Archer, Baron Archer of Sandwell 
	| date = 1963
	| title = The Queen's Courts
	| edition = 2nd
	| location = 
	| publisher = Penguin
	| pages = 121–124
	| isbn = 
}}
</ref>{{rp|121}}

Every court of quarter sessions had a clerk called the [[clerk of the peace]]. For county quarter sessions, this person was appointed by the ''custos rotulorum'' of the county – the [[justice of the peace]] for the county charged with custody of its rolls and records. There was a large fee income for the clerk, and he was usually a friend or relative of the ''custos.'' The clerk rarely discharged the duties of the office himself, but appointed a solicitor to act as his deputy in return for a share of the fees. After 1852, payment by salary was gradually brought in instead of fees.

In some counties there were multiple quarter sessions, quite apart from those held by the county boroughs and boroughs with their own quarter sessions: for example, [[Yorkshire]] had its [[North Riding of Yorkshire|North Riding]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire|West Riding]], and [[East Riding of Yorkshire|East Riding]]; whilst [[Northamptonshire]]'s [[Soke of Peterborough]] was administered separately. These divisions were carried over into the [[administrative counties]] that county councils covered.

=== Non-county borough quarter sessions ===
The non-county boroughs of then-fewer than 20,000 residents lost their own quarter sessions on 1 October 1951.<ref>{{cite web |title=Justices of the Peace Act 1949, s.10 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/12-13-14/101/enacted |website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref>

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Berwick-upon-Tweed]]
*[[Bideford]]
*[[Bridgnorth]]
*[[Carmarthen]]
*[[Chichester]]
*[[Faversham]]
*[[Haverfordwest]]
*[[Hythe, Kent|Hythe]]
*[[Ludlow]]
*[[Maldon, Essex|Maldon]]
*[[Oswestry]]
*[[Richmond, North Yorkshire|Richmond]]
*[[Liberty of Ripon]]
*[[Rye, East Sussex|Rye]]
*[[Saffron Walden]]
*[[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]]
*[[South Molton]]
*[[Stamford, Lincolnshire|Stamford]]
*[[Sudbury, Suffolk|Sudbury]]
*[[Tenterden]]
*[[Thetford]]
*[[Tiverton, Devon|Tiverton]]
*[[Warwick]]
*[[Much Wenlock|Wenlock]]
{{div col end}}

That Act also created a separate quarter sessions for the [[Isle of Wight]].

The more populous non-county [[municipal borough|boroughs]] continued to hold their own quarter sessions,{{Sfn|Whitaker|1968|pp=465-466}} until they were abolished in 1972 by the [[Courts Act 1971]].

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon]]
*[[Andover, Hampshire|Andover]]
*[[Banbury]]
*[[Barnstaple]]
*[[Bedford]]
*[[Bridgwater]]
*[[Cambridge]]
*[[Carlisle]]
*[[Bury St. Edmunds]]
*[[Colchester]]
*[[Deal, Kent|Deal]]
*[[Devizes]]
*[[Dover]]
*[[Folkestone]]
*[[Grantham]]
*[[Gravesend]]
*[[Guildford]]
*[[Hereford]]
*[[King's Lynn]]
*[[Lichfield]]
*[[Maidstone]]
*[[Margate]]
*[[Newark-on-Trent|Newark]]
*[[Newbury, Berkshire|Newbury]]
*[[Newcastle-under-Lyme]]
*[[Penzance]]
*[[Pontefract]]
*[[Poole]]
*[[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]]
*[[Salisbury]]
*[[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]]
*[[Shrewsbury]]
*[[Swindon]]
*[[Winchester]]
*[[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]] (officially New Windsor)
{{div col end}}

==Use by country or territory==
=== Australia ===
Quarter Sessions were also held in the colony of [[New South Wales]].{{sfn|Craies |1911|p=715}}

=== Canada ===

==== Lower Canada ====
The courts of quarter sessions of the peace was created in August 1764 and headed by a chairman in each district. In Montreal, the [[Governor of Montreal]] was replaced with the Court of Quarter Sessions Chairman.

List of quarter session courts in Lower Canada from 1763 to 1790:

* [[Montreal District]]
* Quebec District
* Trois-Rivières District

In 1791, 27 districts were created to replace the role of the three founding districts. In 1832 when Montreal was incorporated as a city the role of the [[Mayor of Montreal]] replaced the quarter sessions chairman and that of the court by [[Montreal City Council]].

==== Upper Canada ====
A Court of Quarter Sessions was held four times a year in each district to oversee the administration of the district and deal with legal cases in the [[Province of Upper Canada]] (later Province of [[Canada West]] after 1841). It was created in 1788 and remained in effect until 1849 when local governments and courts were assigned to [[Historic counties of Ontario|county governments]] to replace the district system created in the 1780s.

List of Quarter Session courts in Upper Canada and later in Canada West:

* Lunenburgh District 1788–1792 – sat at New Johnstown (present-day [[Cornwall, Ontario]])
** [[Eastern District, Upper Canada]] 1792–1849
*** [[Johnstown District, Upper Canada]] 1798–1849 – carved out from Eastern District
**** [[Bathurst District]] 1822–1849 – carved out from Johnstown District
***** [[Dalhousie District]] 1838–1849
* Mecklenburg District 1788–1792 – sat at Kingston (now [[Kingston, Ontario]])
** [[Midland District, Upper Canada]] 1792–1849
*** [[Prince Edward District]], Upper Canada 1831
*** [[Victoria District]], Upper Canada 1837
* Nassau District 1788–1792 – sat at Newark ([[Niagara-on-the-Lake]]) and later at [[York, Upper Canada]] (later [[Toronto]])
** [[Home District]] 1792–1849
*** [[Niagara District]] 1798–1849
*** [[Gore District, Upper Canada]] 1816–1849
**** [[Wellington District, Upper Canada|Wellington District]] 1838–1849
***[[Simcoe District, Upper Canada]] 1837
* Hesse District 1788–1792 – sat at Sandwich (now [[Windsor, Ontario]])
** [[Western District, Upper Canada]] 1792–1849
*** [[London District, Upper Canada]] 1798–1849
**** [[Brock District, Upper Canada]] and [[Talbot District, Upper Canada]] 1837–1849
**** [[Huron District, Upper Canada]] 1838–1849

==== Pre-Confederation ====
* Court of Quarter Sessions for the Middle Division, [[Nova Scotia]]

=== India and Malaysia ===
In [[India]], [[Bangladesh]] and [[Malaysia]], the quarter sessions have evolved into permanent [[Sessions Court]]s.

=== United Kingdom ===
{{Expand section|date=August 2025}}

==== Ireland ====
{{More citations needed section|date=November 2010}}
There were quarter sessions courts for each county and [[county corporate|county of a city or town]] as well as the boroughs of [[Derry]], [[Kinsale]], and [[Youghal]]. The [[Recorder (judge)|recorder]] of the court sat alone. In [[Dublin]] city, which had no [[assizes (Ireland)|assizes]], the quarter sessions court had cognizance of all crimes committed within the city's boundaries except [[treason]]. The [[Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840]] abolished many city and borough courts, but Dublin, [[Cork (city)|Cork]], [[Galway (barony)|Galway]] and [[Carrickfergus (barony)|Carrickfergus]] retained their courts of quarter sessions.

In 1867, the [[Attorney-General for Ireland]], [[Hedges Eyre Chatterton]], issued guidelines to regulate which cases ought to be tried at assizes rather than quarter sessions: treason, [[murder]], [[Treason Felony Act 1848|treason felony]], [[rape]], [[perjury]], [[attempted murder|assault with intent to murder]], [[Unlawful assembly|party procession]]s, election [[Riot Act|riots]], and all offences of a [[political crime|political]] or [[insurrection]]ary character.{{Sfn|McEldowney|O'Higgins|1990|p=133}}

Quarter Sessions were abolished in the [[Irish Free State]] under the [[Courts of Justice Act 1924]].<ref>[http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1924/en/act/pub/0010/sec0051.html The Courts of Justice Act, 1924, Section 51]</ref> Their jurisdiction (together with that of the assizes and the county courts) was largely transferred to the [[Circuit Court (Ireland)|Circuit Court]].

==== Scotland ====
Quarter sessions were established in Scotland by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland in 1661 (cap. 38), which directed justices of the peace to meet together in each [[counties of Scotland|county]] on the first Tuesday of March, May and August, and the last Tuesday of October.{{sfn|Craies|1911|p=715}} Often quarter sessions were delayed, in which case they met as general sessions.<ref>[http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/justice.asp Guide to justice records - The National Archives of Scotland] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927212527/http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/justice.asp|date=September 27, 2011}}</ref> Quarter sessions were abolished alongside other local courts by the [[District Courts (Scotland) Act 1975]], which moved justices of the peace to sit in a uniform series of [[district court (Scotland)|district courts]], since replaced by [[justice of the peace court]]s.

=== United States ===
{{see also|Court of general sessions}}

Courts of quarter sessions also existed in North American colonies and were sometimes known as [[courts of general sessions]]. When the United States became an independent country, the Courts of General Sessions became independent of those Britain and were gradually replaced by other court systems, although the name "Court of Quarter Sessions" or "quarterly court" was retained for some county [[legislature|legislative bodies]] in some jurisdictions.

In [[Pennsylvania]], the courts of general sessions continued until the [[Pennsylvania Constitution|constitution of that Commonwealth was rewritten in 1968]] and the courts' jurisdiction was placed under the pre-existing [[Pennsylvania courts of common pleas|courts of common pleas]] in each county.

In [[New York (state)|New York]], the Court of Quarter Sessions was established in October 17, 1683, by the first Assembly in New York. It had jurisdiction over both civil and criminal matters until 1691, when it was restricted to felony crimes not punishable by death or life imprisonment. The court was abolished in all counties of New York except [[New York County]] (now [[Manhattan]]). In New York County, the Court of General Sessions continued until 1962 when its scope devolved to the [[New York Supreme Court]] (a trial-level court of general jurisdiction not to be confused with the highest court of the New York system, which is called the [[New York Court of Appeals]]). At the time when it was abolished, the Court of General Sessions of New York County was the oldest criminal court in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nycourts.gov/history/legal-history-new-york/other-courts/court-of-general-sessions.html |title=The Court of General Sessions, 1683-1847; In New York City, 1683-1962 |website=New York State Unified Court System |access-date=September 27, 2018}}</ref>

In the [[Northwest Territory]], Governor [[Arthur St. Clair]] modeled county government on that of Pennsylvania. In each county, a court of quarter sessions of the peace, composed of three or more [[Justice of the peace|justices of the peace]], served as the administrative and fiscal board of the county. In 1804, after [[Ohio]] became a state, the courts of quarter sessions of the peace were replaced by boards of county commissioners.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Governmental Organization and Records System|journal=Inventory of the County Archives of Ohio|publisher=[[Historical Records Survey]]|location=Columbus, Ohio|issue=42|date=April 1939|pages=21–22|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8gHAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA22|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Courts of England and Wales]]

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=Baker |first=John |author-link=John Baker (legal historian) |title=An Introduction to English Legal History |edition=3rd |year=1990 |publisher=Butterworths |isbn=0-406-53101-3}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Quarter Sessions, Court of|volume=22|pages=713–715|first=William Feilden|last=Craies}}
* {{cite book |last1=McEldowney |first1=John F |title=The common law tradition: essays in Irish legal history |last2=O'Higgins |first2=Paul |publisher=Irish Academic Press |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-7165-2397-0 |page=133}}
* {{Cite book |last=Whitaker |first=Joseph |title=Whitaker's Almanack |publisher=J Whitaker & Sons Ltd |year=1968 |edition=100th |location=[[London]]}}

{{Judiciary of England and Wales|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Former courts and tribunals in England and Wales]]
[[Category:Judiciary of Canada]]
[[Category:1388 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Courts and tribunals established in the 14th century]]
[[Category:Organizations established in the 1380s]]
[[Category:1972 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1972]]