A court of general sessions was a type of court originally established as a colonial court of quarter sessions in the British North American colonies. Some of these courts continued in some form after

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

became independent countries. These courts initially had general jurisdiction over both civil and criminal matters.

New York

In New York, the Court of Quarter Sessions was established on October 17, 1683, by the first Assembly in New York. It had jurisdiction over both civil and criminal matters until 1691, when it was restricted to felony crimes not punishable by death or life imprisonment. The court was abolished in all counties of New York except New York County (now

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

) by the New York Constitution of 1846. In New York County, the Court of General Sessions continued until 1962 when its scope devolved to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

(a trial-level court of general jurisdiction not to be confused with the highest court of the New York system, which is called the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

). At the time when it was abolished, the Court of General Sessions of New York County was the oldest criminal court in the United States.

Pennsylvania

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 ...

, the courts of general sessions in continued until the constitution of that Commonwealth was rewritten in 1968 and the courts' jurisdiction was placed under the pre-existing Courts of Common Pleas in each county.

South Carolina

The Court of General Sessions in

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 ...

originally served the entire colony and met in Charles Town. It had the same justices as the Court of Common Pleas, and it dealt with criminal cases. Some records of the court date from 1671. An act in 1785 established courts in every county. The current

South Carolina Circuit Court The South Carolina Circuit Court is the state court of general jurisdiction of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It consists of a civil division (the Court of Common Pleas) and a criminal division (the Court of General Sessions). The Circuit ...

has two divisions – the civil division, called the Court of Common Pleas, and the criminal division, called the Court of General Sessions.

Washington, D.C.

The

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

has a court called the Court of General Sessions. It is part of the

Superior Court of the District of Columbia The Superior Court of the District of Columbia, commonly referred to as DC Superior Court, is the trial court for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It hears cases involving Criminal justice, criminal, Civil law (common law), civi ...

. However, it dates only as far back as 1963, when Congress converted the Municipal Court to the Court of General Sessions. It was combined with other courts into the Superior Court in 1970.

References

Courts by type {{Canada-hist-stub