Definition
Officers appointed by a court to assist in the administration of justice, typically by performing quasi-judicial or administrative functions delegated by the presiding judge. The term encompasses two distinct but related legal uses:
1. Special Masters (U.S. practice): Neutral officers appointed by a court to assist in managing complex litigation, conducting hearings, computing damages, overseeing compliance with court orders, or performing other tasks that the court delegates. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53, appointment is generally reserved for cases where some exceptional condition requires it, or for matters of account or difficult computation. The master reports findings and recommendations back to the court, which retains final authority.
2. Masters (English court officers, historical): Permanent officers attached to the superior courts of England and Wales, responsible for a wide range of procedural and administrative functions — taxing costs, issuing writs, conducting hearings in chambers, and other ministerial or quasi-judicial duties. Following the Judicature Acts and subsequent reorganization, the scattered masterships of the old common law and equity courts were consolidated.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): "Master" in ordinary modern English most readily suggests a person with mastery of a skill, an academic degree (master's degree), or historically a form of address for a male person.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "One who has authority over another; a director, chief, or superintendent; also, an employer; as, the master of a household."
The legal meaning of "masters" as a term of art — court-appointed officers with specific procedural roles — is narrower and more institutional than the common sense of authority or expertise. The possessive connotation of control in ordinary English can mislead: a court-appointed master does not "own" or command the parties; the master serves the court and operates strictly within a delegated mandate.
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES
Special Master (U.S. federal practice): Appointed under Rule 53 for trial management, post-judgment enforcement, complex damages calculations, or technical matters exceeding ordinary judicial capacity.
Master in Chancery (historical U.S. and English): An officer of equity courts who examined witnesses, took accounts, and reported to the chancellor. The office largely disappeared in U.S. federal practice after 1948, when Rule 53 was amended to replace it with the special master framework.
Taxing Master (English practice): A master whose primary function was the assessment and taxation (review) of legal costs and attorneys' fees.
Master of the Crown Office (English historical): A specialized officer of the King's/Queen's Bench responsible for criminal and Crown-side proceedings.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers face a double-layered complexity here: the term "master" appears in both U.S. and English legal sources with overlapping but distinct meanings, and both meanings have evolved substantially over time.
In U.S. sources before the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1938), you will encounter masters in chancery operating under equity practice — their powers, procedures, and the weight given their reports differ from post-1938 special masters. Research into pre-Rules federal equity litigation requires understanding that a master's report was subject to de novo review in some circumstances and deference in others, depending on the nature of the reference.
Post-1938, Rule 53 governs but has been amended significantly — the 2003 amendments substantially expanded and restructured the special master framework for both pretrial and post-trial use. A case citing Rule 53 may be applying a materially different version of the rule depending on its date.
In English sources, Rapalje & Lawrence's description reflects the post-Judicature Acts consolidation (principally the Judicature (Officers) Act 1879), which merged the masterships of the old common law courts. Earlier English sources will reference masters of the specific courts — Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer — as distinct officers. Do not assume continuity across this reform boundary.
For corpus researchers using Law Mind materials, the special master in the context of receivership and complex civil litigation is treated in civpro_119. The historical English officer and the U.S. master in chancery require separate treatment and should not be conflated when tracing procedural history.
Historical Dictionary Support
Rapalje & Lawrence define masters primarily through the English court officer lens, describing the consolidation of previously separate masterships under the 1879 Act. The entry reflects a Victorian Anglo-American practitioner's perspective: the focus is institutional and procedural, cataloguing the duties inherited from the abolished masterships of the common law and equity courts.
What Rapalje & Lawrence does not capture is the subsequent American divergence. By 1938, U.S. federal practice had moved decisively toward the special master as an ad hoc appointment rather than a permanent court officer — a significant structural shift that the dictionary predates. Historical legal dictionaries generally treat the office as a standing institutional role, which is accurate for English practice but increasingly misleading for U.S. practice after the mid-twentieth century.
No major divergence among historical sources on the basic English office; the primary gap is the omission of the American equity and then federal Rules evolution.
Jurisdictional Note
In U.S. federal courts, special masters are governed by Rule 53 and compensation is typically charged to the parties. State court practice varies considerably — some states retain the master in chancery by name, others use referees, hearing officers, or commissioners for equivalent functions. English practice continues to use permanent masters in the King's Bench and Chancery Divisions, though their role has been further reformed by the Civil Procedure Rules 1998.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Law Mind Civil Procedure & Evidence Encyclopedia: civpro_119 — Receivership and Appointment of Special Masters — Rule 53