MLchartDataset catalogue

Circuit riding

Term · Law · MLC-T-LAW-000979

The historical practice of judges traveling to different locations within their judicial circuit to hear cases. This system was necessary when permanent courthouses and a large judiciary were not established in every town, requiring judges to move from place to place to administer justice. While largely obsolete, the practice was a defining feature of the early American federal judiciary, including for Supreme Court justices until the Circuit Courts of Appeals Act of 1891.

Table 1. Record
IdentifierMLC-T-LAW-000979
FieldLaw
Record as JSON 
{
  "id": "MLC-T-LAW-000979",
  "term": "Circuit riding",
  "field": "Law",
  "definition": "The historical practice of judges traveling to different locations within their judicial circuit to hear cases. This system was necessary when permanent courthouses and a large judiciary were not established in every town, requiring judges to move from place to place to administer justice. While largely obsolete, the practice was a defining feature of the early American federal judiciary, including for Supreme Court justices until the Circuit Courts of Appeals Act of 1891.",
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/law/circuit-riding/"
}

Record 803 of 5,439 in Law terminology (MLC-0107). Request the full dataset.