Common Pleas
Preserved but no longer current.
Civil actions at law brought by one subject against another — not by the Crown against a subject. The Court of Common Pleas was for the trial of civil (not capital) offences; in 1875 it was abolished, and in 1880 it was represented by the Common Pleas Division and merged in the King's Bench Division.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Common Pleas” mean?
Civil actions at law brought by one subject against another — not by the Crown against a subject. The Court of Common Pleas was for the trial of civil (not capital) offences; in 1875 it was abolished, and in 1880 it was represented by the Common Pleas Division and merged in the King's Bench Division.
Is “Common Pleas” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.