Definition
A sitting or series of sittings of a court, legislative body, or other official tribunal convened to conduct business. In legal usage, "sessions" most commonly refers to a court constituted to hear and determine cases — particularly criminal matters — by virtue of its commission or the appointment of its judges. The term functions both as the plural of "session" (a single sitting) and as a proper title for several distinct courts, especially those of criminal jurisdiction.
1. As a court title: In England and the United States, "sessions" historically designated specific courts: Quarter Sessions (English county criminal courts sitting four times yearly), General Sessions, Petty Sessions, and Court of General Sessions, among others. These courts were defined by their jurisdiction, composition, and frequency of sitting.
2. As a descriptive term: Any authorized sitting of judges or magistrates convened under legal authority to hear cases. The sitting itself — not merely the place — is what constitutes the sessions.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): Simply the plural of "session" — any meeting or period devoted to a particular activity.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): A sitting or assembly of persons for the transaction of business; a series of sittings.
The common meaning captures the general sense (a gathering convened for business) but misses the technical legal weight. In legal sources, "sessions" is frequently a proper noun — a court title with defined jurisdiction, statutory composition, and procedural rules — not merely any convenient meeting. A researcher who reads "sessions" as generic may miss that a source is referring to a specific tribunal with its own jurisdiction and case law.
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES
Quarter Sessions: English court sitting four times yearly before justices of the peace; had jurisdiction over a broad range of criminal offenses below the level of assizes. Abolished in England by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by Crown Courts.
Petty Sessions: Lower-level court before magistrates or justices of the peace; handled summary offenses and preliminary hearings.
General Sessions / Court of General Sessions: American analog to Quarter Sessions in several states; criminal trial courts of general or intermediate jurisdiction. The name persists in some U.S. jurisdictions today.
Special Sessions: Convened outside regular sitting times for urgent or specific matters.
Term Sessions / Regular Sessions: Routine sittings of a court during its established calendar term.
Why It Matters in Research
The primary research trap with "sessions" is that the term operates on two levels simultaneously: it is both a common descriptive noun and a proper title for specific courts. Historical sources use both without always marking the distinction. A reference to "the sessions" in an eighteenth-century English document almost certainly means the Quarter Sessions — a specific court with defined jurisdiction — while a twentieth-century American source using "sessions" may refer to a court of that name, a legislative sitting, or simply a series of hearings.
Jurisdictional variation compounds this. Quarter Sessions was abolished in England in 1971; researchers working with English materials must know whether a source predates or postdates that reform. American courts named "General Sessions" or "Court of Sessions" vary substantially by state in their jurisdiction, composition, and current existence.
The Black's entry in the source material contains an obvious typographical corruption ("Qright of way" intrudes from an unrelated entry), which illustrates a broader hazard: older dictionary editions contain transcription errors that can distort apparent definitions. Researchers should cross-reference with Burrill's and primary sources when a Black's entry reads oddly.
For corpus research, documents organized by court of origin will index sessions courts differently depending on whether the indexer treated "sessions" as a proper name or a descriptive term. Case law from Quarter Sessions may be indexed under the court name, the county, or neither. Legislative sessions add a separate dimension: legislative "sessions" (the sitting periods of a legislature) generate distinct document types — session laws, session journals — that require their own search vocabulary.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's definition is the more precise of the two available sources. It correctly identifies "sessions" as both a descriptive term (a sitting of justices by virtue of their commission or appointment, most commonly for criminal cases) and a proper court title used in England and the United States. The emphasis on criminal jurisdiction reflects the historical dominance of Quarter Sessions and General Sessions as the primary forums where most routine criminal business was conducted.
Black's entry, as preserved in the source material, is corrupted by interpolated text from an adjacent entry and cannot be reliably used as a standalone definition here. The intended sense aligns with Burrill's.
Neither source adequately addresses the legislative use of "sessions" (as in "sessions laws" or "the current legislative session"), which became significant in American legal practice and generates its own body of primary sources. Researchers working with statutory materials should be alert to this gap.
Jurisdictional Note
In England, the Quarter Sessions system defined county-level criminal procedure for centuries before abolition in 1971. American states adopted analogous courts under varying names; some retain "sessions" courts today with jurisdiction ranging from misdemeanors to felonies depending on the state. The term carries no uniform meaning across U.S. jurisdictions and requires verification against the particular state's court structure.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Law Mind Encyclopedia — Courts (for structural overview of sessions courts and their place in court hierarchies)
Law Mind Encyclopedia — Criminal Procedure (for the role of sessions courts in criminal case processing)
Law Mind Encyclopedia — Quarter Sessions (for the English institution specifically)