quarter sessions

from The Century Dictionary.

• A criminal court held quarterly in England by justices of the peace in counties (in Ireland by county-court judges), and by the recorder in boroughs, and having jurisdiction of minor offenses and administration of highway laws, poor-laws, etc. In several of the United States a somewhat similar court is known by this name.
• In Scotland, a court held by the justices of the peace four times a year at the county towns, and having power to review sentences pronounced at the special and petty sessions.
• Abbreviated Q. S.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a local court with criminal jurisdiction and sometimes administrative functions