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.

Words nearby quarter sessions

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. 2020

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