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| the examination before a judicial tribunal of the facts put in issue in a cause, often including issues of law as well as those of fact |
| an allegation that a fact exists that is known not to exist, made by authority of law to bring a case within the operation of a rule of law |
| quarter sessions | |
| —n | |
| 1. | See also crown court Compare assizes (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 courts |
| 2. | (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 |
quarter sessions
formerly, in England and Wales, sessions of a court held four times a year by a justice of the peace to hear criminal charges as well as civil and criminal appeals. The term also applied to a court held before a recorder, or judge, in a borough having a quarter sessions separate from that of the county in which the borough was situated. Under the Courts Act of 1971, all of the quarter-sessions courts were abolished, and their work was assumed by a system of courts called the Crown Court.
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