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COURT LEET

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 328 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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COURT
COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

COURT LEET , an See also:

ENGLISH

English See also:

PETTY, SIR WILLIAM (1623-1687)

petty criminal court for the See also:

PUNISHMENT (from Lat. punire, to punish, from poena, punishment, Gr. 7rocvil)

punishment of small offences. It has been usual to make a distinction between court See also:

baron and court leet i as being See also:

SEPARATE

separate courts, but in the See also:

early See also:

HISTORY

history of the court leet no such distinction i The history of the word " leet " is very obscure. It appears in Anglo-See also:

French documents as lete and in Anglo-Latin as leta. See also:

PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

Professor W. W. See also:

SKEAT, WALTER WILLIAM (1835– )

Skeat has connected it with Old English ldetan, to let, which is very doubtful, though this is the origin of the use of the word in such expressions as " two-" " three-way leet," a See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place where See also:

CROSS

cross-roads meet. The New English See also:

DICTIONARY

Dictionary suggests a connexion with " See also:

LATHE

lathe," a See also:

TERM

term which survives as a See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division of the See also:

COUNTY (through Norm. Fr. comae, cf. O. Fr. cunte, conk', Mod. Fr. comae, from Lat. comitatus, cf. Ital. comitato, Prov. comtat; see COUNT)

county of See also:

Kent, containing several hundreds." This is of Old See also:

NORWEGIAN

Norwegian origin, and seems to have meant " landed possessions." There is also another Old Norwegian See also:

LEITH

leith, a court or judicial See also:

ASSEMBLY, UNLAWFUL

assembly, and See also:

MODERN

modern Danish has laegd, a division of the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country for military purposes. J. H. See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

Round (Feudal See also:

England, p. See also:

lot) points out that the See also:

Suffolk See also:

HUNDRED

hundred was divided for See also:

ASSESSMENT, (from Lat. assessare, to sit beside, to judge)

assessment into equal blocks called " leets" (see further F. W. See also:

Maitland, Select Pleas 'in Manorial Courts, See also:

SELDEN, JOHN (1584–1654)

Selden See also:

Soc.

Publications I. lxxiii-lxxvi). " Leet " is also used, chiefly in See also:

Scotland, for a See also:

list of persons nominated for See also:

election to an See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office. This is, apparently, a shortened See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of the French elite, elected. can be See also:

DRAWN

drawn. At a very early See also:

time the lords of manors exercised or claimed certain jurisdictional franchises. Of these the most important was the " view. of See also:

FRANKPLEDGE (Lat. francum plegium)

frankpledge " and its attendant See also:

POLICE (Fr. police, government, civil administration, a police force, Gr. sroXumeia, constitution, condition of a state, roars, city, state)

police See also:

jurisdiction: Some time in the later See also:

MIDDLE

middle ages the court baron when exercising these See also:

POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers gained the name of leet, and, later, of " court leet." The quo warranto proceedings of See also:

EDWARD

Edward I. established a See also:

sharp distinction between the court baron, exercising strictly manorial rights, and' the court leet, depending for its jurisdiction upon royal See also:

FRANCHISE (from 0. Fr. franchise, freedom, franc, free)

franchise. The court leet was a court of See also:

RECORD (Lat. recordari, to recall to mind, from cor, heart or mind)

record, and its See also:

DUTY (from " due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, dil, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. " debt ")

duty was not only to view the pledges but to See also:

PRESENT

present by See also:

JURY

jury all crimes that might happen within the jurisdiction, and punish the same. The steward of the court acted as See also:

JUDGE (Lat. judex, Fr. juge)

judge, presiding wholly in a judicial See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character, the ministerial acts being executed by the See also:

BAILIFF

bailiff. The court leet began to decline in the 14th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, being superseded by the more modern courts of the justices, but in many cases courts leet were kept up until nearly the middle of the 19th century. Indeed, it cannot be said that they are now actually See also:

EXTINCT

extinct, as many still survive for formal purposes, and by s. 40 of the Sheriffs See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

Act 1887 they are expressly kept up. COURT-See also:

MARTIAL (MARCUS VALERIUS MARTIALIS)

MARTIAL, a court for the trial of offences against military or See also:

NAVAL

naval discipline, or for the See also:

ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to serve)

administration of martial See also:

law.

In England courts-martial have inherited See also:

PART

part of the jurisdiction of the old See also:

CURIA

Curia militaris, or court of the See also:

CHIVALRY (O. Fr. chevalerie, from Late Lat. caballerius)

chivalry, in which a single See also:

MARSHAL (med. Lat. marescalcus, from O.H.Ger. marah, horse, and scalc, servant)

marshal and at one time the high See also:

constable proceeded " according to the customs and usages of that court, and, in cases omitted according to the See also:

CIVIL

civil law, secundum legem armorum" (See also:

Coke, 4 Ins. 17). The modern form of the courts was adopted by See also:

ordinance in the time of See also:

Charles I., when English soldiers were studying the " articles and military See also:

LAWS

laws " of Gustavus See also:

ADOLPHUS, JOHN LEYCESTER (1795-1862)

Adolphus and the Dutch military See also:

CODE (Lat. codex)

code of Arnheim; it is first recognized by See also:

STATUTE

statute in the first See also:

Mutiny Act of 1689. The Mutiny Act (with various extensions and amendments) and the statutory articles of See also:

war continued to be the See also:

SOURCES

sources of military law which courts-martial administered until 1879 when they were codified in the See also:

Army Discipline and Regulation Act 1879, which was, in turn, superseded by the Army Act 1881. This act is re-enacted annually by the Army (See also:

ANNUAL

Annual) Act. The constitution of courts-martial, their See also:

PROCEDURE (Fr. procedure, from Lat. procedere, to go for-ward)

procedure, &c., are dealt with under MILITARY LAW. Naval Courts-Martial.—The administration of the barbarous naval law of England was See also:

long entrusted to the discretion of commanders acting under instructions from the See also:

lord high See also:

ADMIRAL

admiral, who was supreme over both the royal and See also:

MERCHANT (O. Fr. marcheant, modern marchand; from Lat. mercari, to trade, merx, goods, merchandise)

merchant See also:

NAVY

navy. It was the leaders of the Long See also:

PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

Parliament who first secured something like a See also:

REGULAR

regular tribunal by passing in 1645 an ordinance and articles concerning martial law for the See also:

government of the navy. Under this ordinance See also:

Blake, See also:

Monk and See also:

Penn issued instructions for the holding See also:

general and See also:

SHIP

ship courts-martial with written records, the one for captains and commanders, the other for subordinate See also:

OFFICERS

officers and men. Of the latter the See also:

mate, See also:

GUNNER, or MASTER GUNNER

gunner and See also:

BOATSWAIN (pronounced " bo'sun "; derived from " boat " and " swain," a servant)

boatswain were members, but the admirals reserved a See also:

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control over the more serious sentences. Under an act of 1661 the high admiral again received See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power to issue commissions for holding courts-martial—a power which continues to be exercised by the See also:

BOARD (O. Eng. bord)

board of See also:

ADMIRALTY, HIGH COURT OF

admiralty. During the 18th century, under the auspices of See also:

ANSON, GEORGE ANSON, BARON (1697-1762)

Anson, the jurisdiction was greatly extended, and the Consolidation Act of 1749 was passed in which the See also:

PENALTY (Lat. poena, punishment)

penalty of See also:

DEATH

death occurs as frequently as the curses in the commination service.

The Naval Articles of War have always been statutory, and the whole See also:

SYSTEM

system may now be said to See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest on the Naval Discipline Act 1866, as amended by the act of 1884. The navy has its courts of inquiry for the confidential investigation of charges " derogatory to the character of an officer and a See also:

GENTLEMAN (from Lat. gentilis, " belonging to a race or gens," and " man "; Fr. gentilhomme, Span. gentil hombre, Ital. gentil huomo, in its original and strict signification, a term denoting a man of good family, the Lat. generosus (its invariable transl

gentleman." Under the act of 1866 a court-. martial must consist of from five to nine officers of a certain See also:

RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank, and must be held publicly on board of one of H.M. See also:

SHIPS

ships of war, and where at least two such ships are together. The rank of the See also:

PRESIDENT (Fr. president, from Lat. praesidens, post-Augustan Lat. for praeses, director, ruler, from praesidere, to sit in front of, preside)

president depends on that of the prisoner. A judge-See also:

ADVOCATE (Lat. advocatus, from advocare, to summon, especially in law to call in the aid of a counsel or witness, and so generally to summon to one's assistance)

advocate attends, and the procedure resembles that in military courts, except that the prisoner is not asked to plead, and the See also:

SENTENCE (Lat. sententia, a way of thinking, opinion, judgment; vote, sentire, to feel, think)

sentence, if not one of death, does not require the confirmationof the See also:

COMMANDER

commander-in-See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief abroad or of the admiralty at See also:

home. The court has a large and useful power of finding the prisoner guilty of a less serious offence than that charged, which might well be imitated in the See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary criminal courts. The death sentence is always carried out by See also:

HANGING

hanging at the yard-See also:

ARM (a common Teutonic word; the Indo-European root is ar, to join or fit; cf. the Lat. armus, shoulder, and the plural word arma, weapons, Gr. apphs, joint, and the reduplicated apapilKSV, to join)

arm; Admiral Byng, however, was shot in 1757. The board of admiralty have, under the Naval Discipline Acts, a general power of suspending, annulling, and modifying sentences which are not See also:

capital. The jurisdiction extends to all persons belonging to the navy, to See also:

LAND

land forces and other passengers on board, ship-wrecked crews, spies, persons See also:

BORNE, KARL LUDWIG (1786–1837)

borne on the books of H.M. ships in See also:

COMMISSION (from Lat. commissio, committere)

commission, and civilians on board who endeavour to seduce others from See also:

ALLEGIANCE (Mid. Eng. ligeaunce; med. Lat. ligeantia, &c.; the al- was probably added through confusion with another legal term, allegeance, an allegation; the Fr. allegeance comes from the English; the word is formed from " liege," of which the derivatio

allegiance. The See also:

DEFINITION (Lat. definitio, from de-finire, to set limits to, describe)

definition of the jurisdiction by locality includes harbours, havens or creeks, lakes or See also:

rivers, in or out of the See also:

UNITED

United See also:

KINGDOM

Kingdom; all places within the jurisdiction of the admiralty; all places on See also:

SHORE

shore out of the United Kingdom; the See also:

DOCKYARDS

dockyards, See also:

barracks, hospitals, &c., of the service wherever situated; all places on shore in or out of the United Kingdom for all offences punishable under the Articles of War except those specified in See also:

section 38 of the Naval Discipline Act 186o, which are punishable by ordinary law. The Royal See also:

MARINES (from Lat. mare, sea)

Marines, while borne on the books of H.M. ships, are subject to the Naval Discipline Acts, and, by an See also:

order in See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council, 1882, when they are embarked on board ship for service on shore; otherwise they are under the Army Acts. By s. 179, sub.-sec.

7, of the Army Act, in the application of the act to the Royal Marines the admiralty is substituted for military authorities. AuTHORITIES.—Simmons, On the Constitution and Practice of Courts-Martial; Clode, Military and Martial Law; See also:

Stephens, See also:

Gifford and See also:

Smith, See also:

MANUAL

Manual, of Naval Law and Court-Martial Procedure. The earlier writers on courts-martial are See also:

ADYE, SIR JOHN MILLER (1819-19oo)

Adye (1796), M'See also:

Arthur (1813), Maltby (1813, See also:

Boston), See also:

James (182o), D'See also:

Aguilar (1843), and Hough, Precedents in Military Law (1855).

End of Article: COURT LEET

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