Clerk of Assize
Encyclopedia
A Clerk of Assize was a clerk
of the Assize Courts
of England and Wales, a position which existed from at least 1285 to 1971, when the Courts Act 1971
eliminated the Assize Courts. Originally the judges' private clerks tasked with enrolling plea
s, the Clerks grew into the heads of administrative departments tasked with keeping each Assize running smoothly, and at one point sat as judges in their own right.
s. The first few sets of Assize Clerks were the private clerks of the judges themselves, but by 1380 records show that the Western Circuit had a permanent employed Clerk, Simon of Lichfield, a barrister of the Old Temple. From then onwards the position was normally filled by barristers. Although a 1541 statute prohibited a Clerk from actively practising as a barrister while serving, the position offered a chance to make connections with the Westminster judges and of power in local politics, and records show that in 1657 the Oxford Circuit clerkship, for example, changed hands for the then-massive sum of £2,575.
The clerks' income was initially the fees paid by parties to have a case come before the court, and as a result their pay depended on the business of the court itself. By the 1650s there were over 100 nisi prius
cases on each Circuit, worth approximately 10s in fees, along with 50 criminal cases worth between 2s to 16s. Clerks were expected to pay for the expenses of the judge and the bailiff and Marshall's fees, but despite this still prospered - by the 1660s some were making more money than the Assize judges themselves. The Clerk positions eventually ceased to exist in 1971, when the Courts Act 1971
eliminated the Assize Courts
.
When a barrister became a clerk he was statutorily debarred from acting as a barrister. Exceptions were occasionally made - at the 1682 Bedford Assize John Luke, the Clerk, represented Robert Chambers for an unspecified offence.
Court clerk
A court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors...
of the Assize Courts
Assizes (England and Wales)
The Courts of Assize, or Assizes, were periodic criminal courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the Quarter Sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court...
of England and Wales, a position which existed from at least 1285 to 1971, when the Courts Act 1971
Courts Act 1971
The Courts Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom the purpose of which was to reform and modernise the courts system of England and Wales....
eliminated the Assize Courts. Originally the judges' private clerks tasked with enrolling plea
Plea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a criminal defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether that...
s, the Clerks grew into the heads of administrative departments tasked with keeping each Assize running smoothly, and at one point sat as judges in their own right.
History
The first known reference to Clerks of Assize was made in 1285, when a procedural rule was created stating that justices on Assize should be accompanied by a clerk tasked with enrolling pleaPlea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a criminal defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether that...
s. The first few sets of Assize Clerks were the private clerks of the judges themselves, but by 1380 records show that the Western Circuit had a permanent employed Clerk, Simon of Lichfield, a barrister of the Old Temple. From then onwards the position was normally filled by barristers. Although a 1541 statute prohibited a Clerk from actively practising as a barrister while serving, the position offered a chance to make connections with the Westminster judges and of power in local politics, and records show that in 1657 the Oxford Circuit clerkship, for example, changed hands for the then-massive sum of £2,575.
The clerks' income was initially the fees paid by parties to have a case come before the court, and as a result their pay depended on the business of the court itself. By the 1650s there were over 100 nisi prius
Nisi prius
Nisi prius is a historical term in English law. In the nineteenth century, it came to be used to denote generally all legal actions tried before judges of the King's Bench Division and in the early twentieth century for actions tried at assize by a judge given a commission. Used in that way, the...
cases on each Circuit, worth approximately 10s in fees, along with 50 criminal cases worth between 2s to 16s. Clerks were expected to pay for the expenses of the judge and the bailiff and Marshall's fees, but despite this still prospered - by the 1660s some were making more money than the Assize judges themselves. The Clerk positions eventually ceased to exist in 1971, when the Courts Act 1971
Courts Act 1971
The Courts Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom the purpose of which was to reform and modernise the courts system of England and Wales....
eliminated the Assize Courts
Assizes (England and Wales)
The Courts of Assize, or Assizes, were periodic criminal courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the Quarter Sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court...
.
Duties and restrictions
Clerks were initially tasked only with drafting and accepting pleas, but at one point in the 18th century they worked as full-fledged Assize judges to cut down the workload. They eventually headed up an entire department of administrators to keep the Assize running smoothly, and manuals written for Clerks in the late 17th century attest to the complexity of their duties, which only ended when every assize plea had been written, accepted and filed. Little is known about their assistants - they were almost all legally trained, but their duties and identities remain unknown. Assistants were appointed by the Clerk, with the approval of the Assize Judges.When a barrister became a clerk he was statutorily debarred from acting as a barrister. Exceptions were occasionally made - at the 1682 Bedford Assize John Luke, the Clerk, represented Robert Chambers for an unspecified offence.