quarter sessions

noun Law.

an English court of general criminal jurisdiction for crimes less than homicide, held quarterly.

(in the U.S.) a court with limited criminal jurisdiction, having local administrative powers in some states.

Nearby words

quarter plate, quarter point, quarter rest, quarter round, quarter section, quarter sessions, quarter tone, quarter-bound, quarter-breed, quarter-hoop, quarter-hour

Origin of quarter sessions

First recorded in 1570–80

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quarter sessions

It has one court of quarter-sessions, and is divided into eight petty sessional divisions.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 4|Various
It has two courts of quarter-sessions, and is divided into 15 petty-sessional divisions.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4|Various
In that day the third-class amalgamator of distinct things was often on the bench of quarter-sessions.
A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II (of II)|Augustus de Morgan
Now the landlord could only proceed by ejectment in the quarter-sessions' court, or in the superior courts.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 343, May 1844|Various

But the question about the Quarter-Sessions was by no means settled.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 69, No. 423, January 1851|Various

British Dictionary definitions for quarter sessions

quarter sessions

noun (functioning as singular or plural)

(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 courtsSee also crown court Compare assizes

(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

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