A Schöffe is a German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 word referring to a judicial office. The word Schöffe is not used in English, so this article refers only to the office in German-speaking countries. The closest English equivalent is a lay magistrate or perhaps alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

. This German term is related to the terms used in other European languages, including schepen

Schepen

A schepen is a Dutch word referring to a municipal civic office in Dutch-speaking countries. The term is still in use in Belgium, but it has been replaced by wethouder in the Netherlands. The closest English terms are alderman, member of the municipal executive, councillor and magistrate,...

(pl. schepenen) in Dutch, échevin

Échevin

Échevin may refer to:* Échevin , a position in local government in Luxembourg* Échevin , an alderman sitting on the executive of a town council; referred to in Dutch as schepen...

(pl. échevins) in French (in Belgium and Luxembourg), šepmistr (pl. šepmistři) in Czech, and scabino

Scabino

A scabino is an Italian word referring to a type of civic office. The word scabino is not used in English. The closest English terms are alderman or magistrate, but this term does not really have an English equivalent. This article refers only to the office in Italy and elsewhere in Continental...

(pl. scabini) in Italian.