Circuit in United Kingdom

Meaning of Circuit

The following is an old definition of Circuit [1]: A division of country visited by a judge for the dispensing of justice, as for tlie trial of causes; also, the periodical journey itself. The judges ot assize and of nisi prius are twice a year sent around the kingdom to try, by a jury ot the respective counties, the truth ot such matters of tact as are then under dispute in the courts at Westminster Hall. Formerly, the itinerant justices made their circuits once in seven years; but Magna Charta directed that they be sent into every county once a year. They usually went in the vacations, after Hilary and Trinity terms. The custom is retained in a few of the States.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Concept of Circuit provided by the Anderson Dictionary of Law (1889) (Dictionary of Law consisting of Judicial Definitions and Explanations of Words, Phrases and Maxims and an Exposition of the Principles of Law: Comprising a Dictionary and Compendium of American and English Jurisprudence; William C. Anderson; T. H. Flood and Company, Law Publishers, Chicago, United States)