Also known as: assise · assizes · assiser · assizer · assizor · court session
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A periodic session of court held by royal justices in medieval England to hear criminal accusations and civil disputes.
A decree or ordinance promulgated during such a court session declaring legal rules or procedures.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A periodic session of court held by royal justices in medieval England to hear criminal accusations and civil disputes.
Arthur Abrams faced an attacker wielding a heavy club in a crowded square. He responded with a single precise strike that fractured the attacker's arm. At the assize the court examined whether the intended force created a substantial risk of fatal consequences.
Abigail Alvarez was accused of theft before the justices. Twelve free men of the hundred swore to the facts under oath. The assize proceeded to determine whether the presentment satisfied the requirements for trial.
A decree or ordinance promulgated during such a court session declaring legal rules or procedures.
The Assize of Clarendon required accusations by the oath of twelve lawful men of the hundred. This procedure established the foundation for the grand jury's charging function recognized in later American constitutional law.
Angela Acosta stood convicted of rebellion before the special commission. The presiding justice imposed death without further inquiry into mitigating factors. The assize record later became central to claims of cruel punishment.
Alexandra Armstrong was found guilty of arson at the assize. The judge exercised unfettered discretion to choose between death and imprisonment. The absence of standards governing the choice later drew constitutional challenge.
Andrew Avery was tried for murder after a tavern brawl. Witnesses testified he had been drinking heavily before the act. The assize considered whether the intoxication could negate premeditation under the prevailing rule.
Alan Ackerman sued a carrier for delayed delivery of mill parts. The assize weighed whether the carrier had notice of special circumstances at the time of contracting. Liability turned on the foreseeability of the resulting losses.
An assize served as a periodic court session convened by royal justices to hear criminal accusations and civil disputes. It also issued legislative decrees such as the Assize of Clarendon that shaped grand jury procedure.
The Bloody Assizes involved summary trials and mass executions under Chief Justice Jeffreys. Those proceedings contributed to the English Declaration of Rights prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments later incorporated into the Eighth Amendment.
…proper to be taken into consideration." 1 W. Russell, Crimes and Misdemeanors 8 (citing King v. Grindley, Worcester Sum. Assizes 1819, MS). This exception was "slow to take root," however, Hall, Intoxication and Criminal Responsibility, 57 Harv. L. Rev. 1045, 1049 (1944), even in England. Indeed, in the 1835 case of…