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common pleas

American  

plural noun

Law.
  1. civil actions or proceedings between private citizens.

  2. Also Common Pleas court of common pleas.


common pleas British  

noun

  1. short for Court of Common Pleas

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of common pleas

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Jacob Wohl, 24, of Irvine, California, and Jack Burkman, 56, of Arlington, Virginia, could each receive a year in prison when they are sentenced Nov. 29 in common pleas court.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 24, 2022

Two really common pleas are solicitation and misprision.

From Slate • Jun. 10, 2020

He served as an assistant Ohio attorney general and a municipal judge, and he was elected Hamilton County common pleas judge in 1964 — as a Republican overcoming the Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic presidential landslide.

From Washington Post • May 21, 2020

Summit county common pleas judge Joy Malek Oldfield sees about 50 felony offenders in her drug court every Monday morning.

From The Guardian • Sep. 12, 2019

In 1866 he was appointed solicitor-general, an office which he vacated on becoming chief justice of the common pleas in succession to Sir W. Erie in November of the same year.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 "Borgia, Lucrezia" to "Bradford, John" by Various