Court

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

in law, a tribunal of justice; the hall, chamber, or place where justice is administered, or the persons ( judges) employed in military assembled for hearing and deciding deciding consist of any number causes, civil, criminal, military, naval, or officers, from 5 to 13. ecclesiastical. Courts may be classified COURTS. in various ways. A common distinction is into courts of record and not of record; the first being those the judicial proceedings of which are enrolled in records. They may also be divided into courts of original jurisdiction, inferior, and superior courts. In the United States the courts of law are either Federal or State. Federal courts derive their authority from the National Government. They comprise the Supreme Court of the United States, and the District Courts of the United States. The latter in 1911 assumed the work of Circuit Courts, abolished in that year. Other courts existing under the National Government are the United States Circuit Courts of Appeals, the United States Court of Claims, the United States Court of Custom Appeals, and various local tribunals for the District of Columbia. The State courts derive their authority from the several State constitutions. They consist usually of a Supreme Court or Court of Appeals, and of local criminal and civil courts for the various counties. Speaking generally, Federal courts have jurisdiction in cases involving the laws of the United States; State courts have jurisdiction in cases involving State laws. Courts in England derive their authority from royal or parliamentary enactment. They are designated, according to their jurisdiction, as "King's Bench Division," "Chancery Division," "Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division," "Court of Appeals," and the like. There are also the terms of court held by the Lord High Chancellor, the Lord Chief-Justice of Eng land, the Master of the Rolls, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, and the various county courts. The highest legal tribunal in England is the House of Lords when sitting as a court of appeal. In France the courts exist in accordance with the provisions of the code Napoleon. At their head is the Court of Cassation. In Germany there are federal courts and courts of the various German states. The Latin countries organize their courts to some extent upon the French model, except that in Spain, Portugal, and most South American countries the Roman Catholic priesthood have their own courts and cannot be held amenable to the ordinary tribunals.