COURT OF COMMON PLEAS - The Law Mind Legal Dictionary

COURT OF COMMON PLEASAuthored

The Law Mind • 1041 words

Definition

A court of general original jurisdiction, historically distinguished by its authority to hear civil disputes between private parties (as opposed to disputes involving the Crown). The term carries two distinct meanings depending on historical period and jurisdiction:

1. English Law. One of the four superior common law courts at Westminster, operating from the medieval period until its abolition under the Judicature Acts of 1873–1875. Also known as the Common Bench, it originated from the fracturing of the aula regis (the king's central court) and held exclusive jurisdiction over real actions and communia placita — common pleas, meaning civil suits between subject and subject. It was presided over by a Chief Justice and several puisne justices.

2. American Law. A court of original and general jurisdiction for the trial of civil and, in many states, criminal matters according to common law principles. Courts bearing this name existed and continue to exist in several U.S. states, operating as courts of record with broad trial-level authority. Their precise jurisdiction, structure, and continued existence vary by state.

Common Confusion

The word "common" in this context does not mean ordinary or inferior. It derives from communia placita — pleas common to all subjects, meaning civil disputes not reserved exclusively to royal or ecclesiastical courts. Researchers encountering the term in early sources should not conflate "common" with "lower." The Court of Common Pleas in England was a superior court of record, coordinate with King's Bench and Exchequer. American courts bearing the same name are similarly courts of general, not limited, jurisdiction.

Recognized Forms

/SUBTYPES

The English court gave rise to related procedural concepts that appear frequently in pre-1875 legal sources:
- Common Bench: The alternate name for the English Court of Common Pleas, used interchangeably in older authorities.
- Communia Placita: The category of actions — civil suits between subjects — that defined the court's original jurisdiction.
- American Courts of Common Pleas: Trial-level courts of general jurisdiction in states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Delaware, each structured differently by state statute.

Why It Matters in Research

Researchers face three compounding difficulties with this term.

First, temporal layering. Sources written before 1875 refer to the English Court of Common Pleas as a living institution. Sources written after 1875 treat it as a historical entity. American sources from the same period may refer to entirely different courts using the same name. A researcher reading a pre-Civil War treatise on pleading must determine which institution the author has in mind — and that determination affects whether cited procedures, jurisdictional rules, and appellate pathways remain relevant.

Second, American variation. U.S. courts of common pleas are creatures of state statute, and their jurisdiction, organization, and even continued existence differ sharply by state. Pennsylvania's Courts of Common Pleas remain active general trial courts. Ohio used the name for its trial courts of general jurisdiction, organized by county. Other states that once used the name have since renamed or restructured those courts. A Law Mind corpus researcher should not assume that a reference to "the Court of Common Pleas" in one state's materials describes anything equivalent to the same court in another state.

Third, the abolition gap. The English court's abolition under the Judicature Acts is a hard research boundary. Procedure, jurisdiction, and remedies discussed in English common law sources after 1875 operate under the consolidated Supreme Court of Judicature. Pre-1875 English materials citing Common Pleas practice describe a system that no longer exists in that form. American courts, having developed independently, were not affected by the Judicature Acts and continued under their own names and rules.

Corpus researchers should also note that Rapalje & Lawrence and Burrill's Law Dictionary provide no substantive independent entries — both redirect to "Common Pleas," a pattern that itself signals how integrated this court was with the broader concept of common plea jurisdiction rather than being treated as a standalone institutional term.

Historical Dictionary Support

Black's Law Dictionary (both editions) gives the fullest historical account of the English institution, identifying it as one of four superior Westminster courts derived from the aula regis, with exclusive jurisdiction over real actions and communia placita. Both editions agree on the court's abolition under the Judicature Acts and its alternate designation as the Common Bench.

Bouvier's Law Dictionary pivots quickly to American usage, describing the American Court of Common Pleas as a court of original and general jurisdiction for trial of issues of fact and law under common law principles, with both civil and criminal jurisdiction in many states. Bouvier anchors this to Pennsylvania statute (April 14, 1834) as an example of explicit legislative creation and record-court designation — a useful grounding for researchers working with Pennsylvania materials.

Rapalje & Lawrence and Burrill's both redirect to "Common Pleas" without independent treatment, which is consistent with the practice of many 19th-century legal dictionaries that treated the court as an extension of the plea category rather than a discrete institutional subject.

No significant disagreement exists across sources on the English history. The gap is in American treatment: Black's stays primarily historical and English; Bouvier's is the more useful American source. Neither provides a systematic account of variation across U.S. states, which is the live research problem for modern corpus users.

Jurisdictional Note

In England, the Court of Common Pleas was abolished by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 and its business merged into the unified Supreme Court of Judicature. In the United States, several states retain courts of common pleas by name — most notably Pennsylvania, where they function as the primary trial courts of general jurisdiction organized by judicial district. Ohio formerly used the name for its county-level trial courts of general jurisdiction. Researchers should confirm the current structure of the specific state's court system before applying historical characterizations.

Encyclopedia Cross-Reference

See Law Mind Encyclopedia: Courts of Westminster; History of the Common Law Courts; American State Court Systems

COURT OF COMMON PLEASsubentry

Black's Law Dictionary • 1891

The English court of common pleas was one of the four superior courts at Westminster, and existed up to the passing of the judicature acts. It was also styled the "Common Bench." It was one of the courts derived from the breaking up of the aula regis, and had exclusive jurisdiction of all real actions and of communia placita, or common pleas, i. e., between subject and subject. It was presided over by a chief justice with four puisne judges. Appeals lay anciently to the king's bench, but afterwards to the exchequer chamber. See 3 Bl. Comm. 37, et seq. In American law. The name some- times given to a court of original and gen- eral jurisdiction for the trial of issues of fact and law according to the principles of the common law.

COURT OF COMMON PLEASsubentry

Bouvier's Law Dictionary • 1928

In American Law. A court of original and general jurisdiction for the trial of issues of fact and law according to the principles of the common law. Courts of this name exist in some of the states of the United States, and frequently have a criminal as well as civil jurisdiction. They are, in general, courts of record, being expressly made so by statute in Penn- sylvania, April 14, 1834, § 18. In Pennsyl- vania they exercise an equity jurisdiction also, as well as that at common law. Courts of substantially similar powers to those indicated in the definition exist in all the states, under various names. In English Law. Formerly one of the three superior courts of common law at Westminster. This court, which is sometimes called, also, Bancus Communis, Bancus, and Common Bench, was a branch of the curia regis, and was at its insti tution ambulatory, following the household of the king. In the eleventh clause of Magna Charta, it is provided that it shall be held at some fixed place, which is Westminster. The establishment of this court at Westminster, and the consequent construc tion of the Inns of Court and gathering together of the common-law lawyers, enabled the law itself to withstand the attacks of the canonists and civilians. It derived its name from the fact that the causes of common people were heard there. It had exclusive jurisdiction of real actions as long as those actions were in use, and had also an extensive and, for a long time, exclusive jurisdiction of all actions be- tween subjects. This latter jurisdiction, however, was gradually encroached upon by the king's bench and exchequer, with which it afterwards had a concurrent jurisdiction in many matters. Formerly none but serjeants at law were admitted to practise before this court in banc 6 Bingh. N. C. 235; but, by statutes 6 & 7 Vict. c. 18, § 61, 9 & 10 Vict. c. 54, all barristers at law have the right of "practice, pleading, and audience." It consisted of one chief and four puisne or associate justices. It had a civil, common-law jurisdiction, concurrent with the king's bench and ex- chequer, of personal actions and actions of ejectment, and a peculiar or exclusive juris- diction of real actions, actions under the Rail- way and Canal Traffic Act, 17 & 18 Vict. c. 31, the registration of judgments, annuities, etc., 1 & 2 Vict. c. 110; 2 & 3 Vict. c. 11; 3 & 4 Vict. c. 82; 18 Vict. c. 15; respect- ing fees for conveyances under 3 & 4 Will.

COURT OF COMMON PLEASsubentry

Rapalje & Lawrence • 1888

- See COMMON PLEAS.

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