Leet

Leet

Court Leet

Leet was an East Anglian term for a territorial and jurisdiction area, and court leet was a court held by right of franchise in which a private lord exercised the jurisdiction of the sheriff’s tourn. In the fourteenth century it spread over England. Leet jurisdiction was frequently exercised by lords of manors and by boroughs, and was both a governmental and a judicial body. It was frequently difficult to distinguish it from the jurisdiction of feudal or manorial courts.

The court met twice a year and was presided over by the lord’s steward who from an early date was a lawyer and acted as judge. Its main functions were to hold the view of frankpledge (q.v.) and to receive notices of accusation of crimes made by juries. Increasingly, serious cases were reserved to itinerant justices and courts leet were restricted to petty misdemeanors.

From the sixteenth century courts leet declined in face of the growing importance of the J.P.s. They were largely impotent, sat only once a year, could only fine or amerce but not imprison. Decline was, however, slow and their existence was recognized until well into the nineteenth century. In theory some still exist.

W. G. Greenwood, Authority, Jurisdiction and Method of Keeping County-Courts, Courts-Leet and Courts-Baron; F. Hearnshaw, Leet jurisdiction in England; W. A. Morris, The Frankpledge System.

Source: The Oxford Companion to Law, 1980, pp. 303-304.