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.

Origin of quarter sessions

First recorded in 1570–80

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for quarter sessions

Historical Examples of quarter sessions

But the question about the Quarter-Sessions was by no means settled.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 69, No. 423, January 1851
Various
The severity of the magistrates at the quarter-sessions was equally revolting.
A Shepherd's Life
W. H. Hudson
A case tried at Newbury quarter-sessions is fresh in the memory of many.
The Mysteries of All Nations
James Grant
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
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

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