Editing Oyer and terminer

{{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>

==Use in Scotland==
By the [[Treason Act 1708]], [[the Crown]] had the power to issue commissions of Oyer and Terminer in [[Scotland]] for the trial of [[high treason in the United Kingdom|treason]] and [[misprision of treason]]. Three [[Lords of Justiciary]] had to be in any such commission. An [[indictment]] for either of the offences mentioned could be removed by [[certiorari]] from the court of Oyer and Terminer into the [[High Court of Justiciary]].<ref name="Chisholm 1911, p. 424"/>

Commissions of Oyer and Terminer in Scotland have been exercised at various points in history, for example, the trial of [[Radicalism (historical)|Radicals]] during the "[[Radical War]]" of 1820.{{citation needed |date=June 2020 }}

==Use in the United States==
In the United States Oyer and Terminer was the name once given to courts of criminal jurisdiction in some states, including [[Delaware]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eYFKAAAAYAAJ&q=victor%20b.%20woolley%20civil%20actions%20in%20law%20courts%20of%20delaware&pg=PA37 |title=Practice in Civil Actions and Proceedings in the Law Courts of the State of Delaware |last=Woolley |first=Victor Baynard |date=1906 |publisher=Star Printing Company |language=en }}</ref> [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[New Jersey]] and [[Pennsylvania]]. [[New York (state)|New York]] had courts of Oyer and Terminer for much of the 19th century, but these courts were abolished by a change in the [[New York Constitution|state constitution]], effective in 1896. The New York court's jurisdiction was the same as that of the Court of General Sessions or County Court, except that Oyer and Terminer had jurisdiction over crimes punishable by life imprisonment or death.<ref name="NYS">{{cite web |url=http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_legal_trials.pdf |title=New York Criminal Courts |access-date=2013-06-27 |publisher=[[New York State Archives]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102064211/http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_legal_trials.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Massachusetts]] Governor [[William Phips]] created a court of Oyer and Terminer for the [[Salem witch trials]] on May 27, 1692, consisting of Mr. Stoughton, Maj. Richards, Maj. Gidny, Mr. Wait Winthrop, [[Samuel Sewall]], Mr. Sargeant, as well as Maj. [[Nathaniel Saltonstall]], who soon withdrew in dissatisfaction and was replaced by [[Jonathan Corwin]]. (Corwin had been one of the two main judges of the early proceedings in Salem, often signing his name under John Hathorne.)<ref>[https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=Rn0PAAAAYAAJ Salem Records]</ref> The quorum was five of these seven.<ref>Burr, Witchcraft Cases, 1914</ref> It was dissolved by Governor Phips on October 29, 1692, when the trials were reflected upon and disapproved of.{{fact|date=September 2023}}

==References==
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[[Category:French words and phrases]]
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[[Category:Common law legal terminology]]
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