Circuit court
Circuit courtsare court systems in severalcommon lawjurisdictions.[1]It may refer to:
- Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases;
- Courts that sit within ajudicial circuit,i.e., an administrative division of a country's judiciary; or
- A higher-level trial court, e.g., for felony or indictment offences.
History
[edit]Origin in England
[edit]The term "circuit court" is derived from the English custom ofitinerant courtswhose judges periodically travelled on pre-set paths - or circuits - to hear cases from different areas.
Establishment
[edit]The first formal circuits were defined in 1293, when a statute was enacted which established fourassizecircuits.[2]
It was long assumed that these circuits originated with theeyreincommon pleasduring the reign ofHenry II,but during the late 1950s, legal historians such asRalph Pughrecognized that the eyre's "connection with later circuit justices is rather collateral than lineal",[3]and the eyre was merely one of a number of experiments in "systematized itinerant justice" undertaken by the English crown during the late 12th century and the 13th century.[3]
Development
[edit]The development of the assize circuits was interrupted in 1305 by the appointment of justices oftrailbastonbyKing Edward I.[4]UnderKing Edward III,two statutes were enacted in 1328 and 1330 which restored the assize circuits and reorganized thecounties of Englandinto six circuits where assizes were supposed to be held thrice yearly (but were more often held twice each year).[5]
By 1337, the six assize circuits had stabilized:[5]
| Circuit | Counties |
|---|---|
| Home | Essex,Hertfordshire,Kent,Middlesex,Surrey,Sussex |
| Midland | Derbyshire,Leicestershire,Lincolnshire,Nottinghamshire,Northamptonshire,Rutland,Warwickshire |
| Norfolk | Bedfordshire,Buckinghamshire,Cambridgeshire,Huntingdonshire,Norfolk,Suffolk |
| Oxford | Gloucestershire,Herefordshire,Shropshire,Staffordshire,Worcestershire |
| Northern | Cumberland,Lancashire,Northumberland,Westmorland,Yorkshire |
| Western | Berkshire,Cornwall,Devon,Dorset,Hampshire,Oxfordshire,Somerset,Wiltshire |
During the 1500s, two major changes occurred. Middlesex was removed from the Home Circuit and grouped with the adjacentCity of London(which was never part of the circuits), and Oxfordshire and Berkshire were transferred from the Western Circuit to the Oxford Circuit.[6]The Welsh county ofMonmouthshirewas also transferred into the Oxford Circuit.[6]
After that, the circuits of England remained largely static for almost four centuries, until they were again reorganized during the 19th century.[6]Twice each year, judges "literally rode each circuit," meaning that a pair of common law judges assigned to a circuit rode on horseback through all thecounty townsand several other important towns in each circuit and heard cases.[6]
Origin in North America
[edit]On theAmerican frontier,a judge often travelled on horseback along with a group of lawyers.Abraham Lincolnwas one such attorney who regularlyrode the circuitin Illinois, along with Circuit JudgeDavid Davis.[7]In more settled areas, astagecoachwould be used. Eventually, the legal caseload in a county would become great enough to warrant the establishment of a local judiciary.
Most of these local judicial circuits (that is, in terms of the actual routes travelled by judges) have been thus replaced by judges regularly stationed at local courthouses, but in many areas, the legacy term remains in use.[citation needed]
England and Wales
[edit]
England and Wales is divided into six circuits for the purposes of the administration of justice:[8]the Midland Circuit, North Eastern Circuit,Northern Circuit,South Eastern Circuit, Western Circuit, and the Wales and Chester Circuit.
The system is overseen by theLord Chancellor.The membership consists of High Court Judges, Circuit Judges, District Judges, law practitioners and academic lawyers. The Circuits also form the basis for administration of the Bar in England and Wales except for Cheshire.
Until 2007 for court administration purposes it formed part of the Wales and Chester Circuit. When in 2007 it became part of the Northern Circuit for court administrative purposes post devolution, the "Wales and Chester Circuit" continued to be the Circuit Bar.
The Circuit Bars are represented on the Bar Council through the Circuit Leaders.[8]
Republic of Ireland
[edit]In theRepublic of Irelandthe Circuit Court is part of theCourts of First Instance,senior to theDistrict Courtbut junior to theHigh Court (Ireland).It was first established as theCircuit Court of Justiceunder theCourts of Justice Act 1924and replaced the County Court on the civil side, andquarter sessionsand recorder's courts on the criminal side, as well as some of the jurisdiction of theassizes.These are heard by a judge sitting alone. It also has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the District Court. Appeals from the court lie to the High Court on the civil side and theCourt of Criminal Appealon the criminal side.
The Circuit Court is so-called because of the circuits on which its judges travel, namely Dublin, Cork, Northern, Western, Eastern, South Western, South Eastern, and Midland, each of which are composed of a number of counties. The court consist of a President and thirty-seven judges. Although there is strictly speaking just one Circuit Court, a sitting of the Circuit Court in any particular location is referred to asname of townCircuit Court, e.g. Trim Circuit Court.
The High Court also sits "on circuit" twice yearly, though this is calledthe High Court on Circuitrather than a circuit court. In this case, "on circuit" means sitting in a location other thanDublin.
United States
[edit]Federal courts of appeals
[edit]
In the United States, circuit courts were first established in theThirteen British Colonies.In 1789, theUnited States circuit courtswereUnited States federal courtsestablished in eachfederal judicial district.These circuit courts exercised bothoriginal(first instance) andappellate jurisdiction.They existed until 1912. The original jurisdiction formerly exercised by the United States circuit courts is now exercised by theUnited States district courts.Their appellate jurisdiction is now exercised by theUnited States courts of appeals,which were known as theUnited States circuit courts of appealsfrom their establishment in 1894 until 1947.
The federal courts of appeals sit permanently in 13 appellate circuits (11 regional circuits as well as aDC Circuitand theFederal Circuit). There are several other federal courts that bear the phrase "Court of Appeals" in their names, but they are not Article III courts and are not considered to sit in appellate circuits.
The federal courts of appeals are intermediate courts, between the district courts (the federaltrial courts) and the Supreme Court. Smaller circuits, such as theSecond CircuitandThird Circuit,are based at a single federal courthouse, while others, such as the largeNinth Circuit,are spread across many courthouses. Since three-judge federal appellate panels are randomly selected from all sitting circuit judges, Ninth Circuit judges must often "ride the circuit," though this duty has become much easier to carry out since the development of modernair travel.
Supreme Court of the United States
[edit]Under the originalJudiciary Act of 1789and subsequent acts, thejusticesof theSupreme Court of the United StatesinWashington, D.C.had theresponsibilityof "riding circuit" and personally hearing both appeals and trials in the circuit courts, in addition to their caseload back in the capital. This duty was reasonable when the United States consisted of the originalThirteen Coloniesalong theEast Coast of the United States,but became increasingly onerous and impractical with the country'srapid westward expansionduring the 19th century, and was repealed byCongresswith the enacting of theJudiciary Act of 1891.The U.S. Supreme Court justices still retain vestiges of the days of riding circuit; each justice is designated to hear certaininterlocutory appealsfrom specific circuits and can unilaterally decide them or refer them to the entire court. The court's customary summer recess originated as the time during which the justices would leave Washington and ride circuit (since dirt roads were more passable in the summer).
State courts
[edit]ManyU.S. stateshavestate courtscalled "circuit courts." Most aretrial courtsofgeneral,original jurisdiction.
- Alabama–Alabama Circuit Courts
- Arkansas–Arkansas Circuit Courts
- Connecticut–Connecticut Circuit Courts
- Florida–Florida circuit courts
- Hawaii–Hawaii State Circuit Courts
- Illinois–Illinois circuit courts
- Indiana–Indiana Circuit Courts
- Kentucky–Kentucky Circuit Courts
- Maryland–Maryland Circuit Courts
- Michigan–Michigan Circuit Courts
- Mississippi–Mississippi Circuit Courts
- Missouri–Missouri Circuit Courts
- New Hampshire–New Hampshire Circuit Courts
- Oregon–Oregon circuit courts
- South Carolina–South Carolina Circuit Court
- South Dakota–South Dakota Circuit Courts
- Tennessee–Tennessee Circuit Courts
- Virginia–Virginia Circuit Court–court of recordthat has appellate jurisdiction over a county'sgeneral district courtandjuvenile and domestic relations courtand original jurisdiction over major civil cases and all the county'sfelonycases. A circuit court has the power to issuedeath sentencesand impanelgrand juries.The court's decisions become legalprecedents.
- West Virginia–West Virginia Circuit Courts
- Wisconsin–Wisconsin circuit courts
InLouisiana,the intermediateappellate courtsare called theLouisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal.There are five separate judicial circuits.
In many states, such asMissouri,a judicial circuit can encompass one or morecounties(seeMissouri Circuit Courts). Each circuit court can have several divisions, including circuit, associate,small claims,probate,family, or drug court. Each division hears cases within its particular area ofsubject-matter jurisdiction,and jurisdiction is based on the size or type of a civil claim or the severity or type of a criminal charge.Drug court,for example, hears only drug-related criminal cases.
Several U.S. states havestate supreme courtsthat traditionally "ride the circuit" in the sense of hearingoral argumentsat multiple locations throughout their jurisdictions each year. Among the states with circuit-riding supreme courts areAlaska,California,Idaho,Oregon,Pennsylvania,Tennessee,andWashington.
Canada
[edit]Courts serving certain areas particularly inNorthern Canada,such as theNunavut Court of Justiceand courts serving northernQuebec,travel as circuit courts to hear cases in remote communities.
Australia
[edit]Courts serving remote areas in theNorthern Territoryare known as circuit courts, sometimes referred to as "bush courts".[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 387–389.
- ^Cockburn, J.S. (1972).A History of English Assizes, 1558-1714.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 17.ISBN9780521084499.
- ^abCockburn, J.S. (1972).A History of English Assizes, 1558-1714.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 16.ISBN9780521084499.
- ^Cockburn, J.S. (1972).A History of English Assizes, 1558-1714.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 18.ISBN9780521084499.
- ^abCockburn, J.S. (1972).A History of English Assizes, 1558-1714.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 19.ISBN9780521084499.
- ^abcdCockburn, J.S. (1972).A History of English Assizes, 1558-1714.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 23.ISBN9780521084499.
- ^Fraker, Guy C. (2011).Lincoln's Ladder to the Presidency: The Eighth Judicial Circuit.Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. pp. 1–3.ISBN9780809332021.
- ^abCircuitsArchived2007-06-29 at theWayback Machineby the Bar Council of England and Wales
- ^"Court Website Links".
- ^Bennett, Paul (2013).Specialist courts for sentencing Aboriginal offenders in Australia(PDF)(Master of Laws).Flinders University.p. xv.Retrieved25 July2022.
