A court of common pleas is a common kind of

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

structure found in various

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one another that did not involve the King. The courts of common pleas in England and Ireland were abolished in the 19th century. The only remaining courts retaining the name "court of common pleas" are therefore in the United States: the Courts of Common Pleas of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. Of these, the first two are superior

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

s of

general jurisdiction A court of general jurisdiction, in the law of the United States, is a court with authority to hear cases in law and in Equity (law), equity of all kinds – criminal law, criminal, civil law (common law), civil, family law, family, probate, and oth ...

, the third is the civil division of the superior trial court of general jurisdiction, and the fourth is an inferior trial court of

limited jurisdiction Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the court's jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, and family matters. Courts of limited jurisdiction, as opposed to general jurisdiction, derive power from an issuing auth ...

. In all cases, their scope is different from the original Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, as they all have jurisdiction to hear civil matters involving the government, and all but South Carolina's have jurisdiction over criminal matters.

Extant courts

Delaware Court of Common Pleas The Delaware Court of Common Pleas are state courts of the U.S. state of Delaware. The Delaware Court of Common Pleas are trial courts and inferior courts of limited jurisdiction. It has criminal jurisdiction throughout the state over all misdem ...

Ohio Courts of Common Pleas The Ohio Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of the state court system of Ohio. The courts of common pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the state. They are the only trial courts created by the Ohio Constitution (in A ...

Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas In Pennsylvania, the courts of common pleas are the trial courts of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (the state court system). The courts of common pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the state. The name derives f ...

* South Carolina Court of Common Pleas

Defunct courts

England

* Court of Common Pleas at Westminster * Court of Common Pleas of the County Palatine of Durham *

Court of Common Pleas of the County Palatine of Lancaster The Court of Common Pleas of the County Palatine of Lancaster, sometimes called the Common Pleas of or at Lancaster was a court of common pleas that exercised jurisdiction within the County Palatine of Lancaster until its jurisdiction was transfer ...

Ireland

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is sti ...

United States

New York Court of Common Pleas {{History of NYC The New York Court of Common Pleas was a state court in New York. Established in the Province of New York in 1686, the Court remained in existence in the Province and, after the American Revolution, in the U.S. state of New York ...

New Jersey Court of Common Pleas The New Jersey Court of Common Pleas was a civil court of general jurisdiction, which existed in New Jersey from 1704 until 1947. The Court of Common Pleas was established by an ordinance promoted by New Jersey's first royal governor Edward H ...

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