assize

n.

1. 1. A session of a court.
   2. A decree or edict rendered at such a session.
2. 1. An ordinance regulating weights and measures and the weights and prices of articles of consumption.
   2. The standards so established.
3. Law. A judicial inquest, the writ by which it is instituted, or the verdict of the jurors.
4. assizes
   1. One of the periodic court sessions formerly held in each of the counties of England and Wales for the trial of civil or criminal cases.
   2. The time or place of such sessions.

[Middle English assise, from Old French, from past participle of asseoir, to seat, from Latin assidēre, to sit beside. See assiduous.]

(uh-SYZ)

noun
A session of a court or a verdict made at such a session.

Etymology
From Middle English assise, from Old French, from asseoir (to seat), from Latin assidere (to sit), from ad- + sedere (to sit}.

Usage
"Did Miss Dunbar admit writing it?" "Yes, sir." "What was her explanation?" "Her defence was reserved for the Assizes. She would say nothing." — Arthur Conan Doyle, The Problem of Thor Bridge, 1922.

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noun

The formal product of a legislative or judicial body: act, bill, enactment, law, legislation, lex, measure, statute. See law.

The word has a number of different meanings in legal history. It was used to describe

(a) a session of an official body, especially the king's council (e.g. the Assize of Clarendon 1166);
(b) the edicts or enactments made at such sessions;
(c) the forms of action or procedures instituted by such edicts;
(d) the system of travelling courts which became part of English life from the reign of Henry II until 1971.

In the 13th cent. the term ‘assize’ came to be the general term applied to the visits of the judges on circuit. After 1340 the justices of assize were required to be justices of the Court of Common Pleas or King's Bench or serjeants at law. The assizes continued until 1971 on the circuits ordained by Henry II, the assize towns being visited periodically by assize judges, who would hear serious criminal and important civil cases. Although the Courts Act 1971 abolished the assizes, senior judges still go ‘on circuit’ to hear cases in important modern centres of population.

1. A cylindrical block of stone forming one unit in a column.
2. A course of stonework.

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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A judicial procedure in early England whereby a certain number of men in a community were called together to hear and decide a dispute; a type of court. A type of writ, commanding the convening of such a tribunal in order to determine disputed rights to possess land. An edict or statute issued by an ancient assembly.

For example, the Assize of Clarendon was a statute, or ordinance, passed in the tenth year of the reign of King Henry II (1164). It proclaimed that those who were accused of a heinous crime and were unable to exonerate themselves had forty days to gather provisions from friends to provide for their sustenance before they were sent into exile.

The word assize comes from the Latin assideo, which describes the fact that the men taking action sat together. An assize could be a number of citizens, eventually settled at the number twelve, called to hear cases. They decided on the basis of information they had or could gather in the community. This group of neighbors was presumed to know the facts well enough to determine who was entitled to possession of disputed lands. A writ of assize could be issued on behalf of the king to commission this body of twelve to hear a dispute.

Eventually, the writs gave birth to forms of action for lawsuits concerning real property. For example, the assize of novel disseisin was a form of action for the recovery of lands after the claimant had been wrongfully dispossessed (disseised). The assize of nuisance was proper to secure the abatement of a nuisance or for monetary damages to compensate for the harm done by the nuisance.

; Henry II of England.

See: Clarendon, Constitutions of.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - assise-ret

Nederlands (Dutch)
(onderwerp van) gerechtelijk onderzoek, oproep tot gerechtelijke zitting, (mv) regelmatige zittingen van rechters (Brits)

Français (French)
n. - (GB, Jur) assisses (npl)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Amtsgericht, Bezirksgericht, Kreisgericht

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δίκη σε ορκωτό δικαστήριο, (πληθ.) έκτατο ορκωτό δικαστήριο, κακουργιοδικείο

Português (Portuguese)
n. - sessões (f pl) periódicas de um tribunal superior em cada condado da Inglaterra

idioms:

• county assizes    sessão (f) de tribunal de condado (Jur.)

Русский (Russian)
выездная сессия суда присяжных

idioms:

• county assizes    выездная сессия суда присяжных в графствах

Español (Spanish)
n. - sesión judicial

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - domstol, förhör

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
巡回审判, 法定标准, 大审, 条令, 法令

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 巡迴審判, 法定標準, 大審, 條令, 法令

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 재판 , 개정 기간, 법령

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 立法府, 法令, 巡回裁判

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قانون, قانون يحدد الموازين والمكاييل واسعار السلع, جلسه هيئه قضائيه أو اداريه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ישיבת בית-משפט (מיושן)‬

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