Editing Oyer and terminer (section)

{{Short description|Term in English law: to hear and determine}}
{{Redirect|Oyer|the interjection used to call a courtroom to order|Oyez|the community in the United States|Oyer, Missouri|the municipality in Norway|Øyer}}

In [[English law]], '''oyer and terminer''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɔɪ|.|ər|...|ˈ|t|ɜːr|m|ɪ|n|ər}}; a partial translation of the Anglo-French '''{{lang|xno|oyer et terminer}}''', which literally means 'to hear and to determine'<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oyer%20and%20terminer Oyer and terminer], [[Merriam-Webster]].com. Retrieved February 7, 2011.</ref>) was one of the commissions by which a [[assize Court#England and Wales|judge of assize]] sat. Apart from its [[Law French]] name, the commission was also known by the [[Law Latin]] name '''{{lang|la|audiendo et terminando}}''', and the [[Old English]]-derived term [[sac and soc]].

By the commission of oyer and terminer the commissioners (in practice the judges of assize, though other persons were named with them in the commission) were commanded to make diligent inquiry into all [[treasons]], [[felonies]] and [[misdemeanours]] whatever committed in the counties specified in the commission, and to hear and determine the same according to law. The inquiry was by means of the [[grand jury]]; after the grand jury had found the [[bill of indictment|bills of indictment]] submitted to it, the commissioners proceeded to hear and determine by means of the [[petit jury]]. The words ''oyer and terminer'' were also used to denote the court that had jurisdiction to try offences within the limits to which the commission of oyer and terminer extended.<ref name="Chisholm 1911, p. 424">{{EB1911 |inline=1 |wstitle=Oyer and Terminer |volume=20 |page=424}}</ref>