Definition
The rising of court refers to the formal adjournment or cessation of a court's judicial business. In its primary and most precise sense, it describes the final adjournment of a court at the end of a term — the moment when the court's term officially closes and no further business may be conducted until a new term convenes. More loosely, the phrase is also used to describe the end of a single day's proceedings or a temporary recess, though this secondary usage is considered imprecise.
The rising of court marks a legally significant threshold: acts, filings, or orders that must occur "before the rising of court" must be completed before that adjournment, not merely submitted or initiated.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): No standard entry. "Rising" in ordinary English refers to upward movement or an act of standing up. "Court" in common usage may refer to a judicial body, a playing surface, or a royal household.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "Rising" as an adjective or participle meaning ascending, getting up from a seated position, or coming to an end. The phrase "rising of court" does not appear as a defined compound expression in general dictionaries of the period.
The legal phrase carries a specific procedural meaning that the component words do not convey individually. A non-specialist reading "rising of court" might understand it to mean little more than judges standing up, missing entirely the significance of term-end adjournment and its effect on pending matters, deadlines, and the court's jurisdiction over business left unfinished.
Common Confusion
The rising of court is sometimes conflated with a recess or a daily adjournment, but these are legally distinct. A recess is a temporary pause within a session; a daily adjournment ends the day's business while the term continues. The rising of court — in its strict sense — ends the term itself. The distinction matters because certain procedural rights, time-sensitive motions, or the disposition of pending matters may be governed by whether a full term adjournment has occurred, not merely a pause or daily close. Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) explicitly flags this imprecision in common usage.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers will most often encounter "rising of court" in older procedural materials, rules governing term-based court systems, and in cases where a deadline was defined by reference to term adjournment rather than calendar date. Several practical traps arise:
First, the term-based court calendar that gives "rising of court" its primary meaning has largely been replaced in most American jurisdictions by continuous session systems, where courts sit year-round rather than in discrete terms. In modern practice, references to the rising of court in the strict sense are rare; when the phrase appears in contemporary materials, it is more likely being used in the looser sense of daily adjournment.
Second, historical sources — especially pre-twentieth-century opinions and procedural rules — frequently condition rights or obligations on events occurring "before the rising of court" or "at the rising of court." Researchers reading these sources must determine which sense was intended: end of term, end of day, or a recess. The Nebraska case cited in Black's (State v. Weaver, 11 Neb. 163, 8 N.W. 885) provides an example of judicial treatment of this ambiguity.
Third, researchers working in courts that still operate on formal term schedules — including some state courts and specialized federal courts — should treat "rising of court" with its strict meaning unless context indicates otherwise.
Fourth, the phrase connects directly to contempt and courtroom conduct rules, since disruptions occurring while court is "in session" versus after the rising may carry different procedural consequences.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) defines the rising of court as "properly the final adjournment of the court for the term," while acknowledging that common usage extends the phrase to cover daily cessation of business or a recess. Black's frames it explicitly as the opposite of "sitting" or "session," which is the most useful orienting contrast for researchers.
The entry is brief and does not address what legal consequences attach to the rising, leaving researchers to case law for that analysis. No substantive treatment of the phrase appears in general legal encyclopedias of the period as a standalone topic — it surfaces primarily as a definitional reference within procedural discussions. The phrase reflects the term-based structure of common law courts, in which the court's authority over pending matters was tied to the term calendar; that structural context is not spelled out in the dictionary entry itself but is essential to understanding why the distinction mattered enough to define.
Jurisdictional Note
Most federal and state courts now operate on continuous session calendars, diminishing the practical significance of "rising of court" in its term-end sense. Some state courts and specialized courts retain formal term structures, and the phrase retains full technical force in those contexts. Researchers working across jurisdictions should verify whether the relevant court operates on a term calendar before applying the strict definition.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
The Law Mind Criminal Law Encyclopedia: Criminal Contempt of Court (criminal_262) — relevant to the procedural significance of whether court is in session at the time of an alleged contumacious act.