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The New York Court of Common Pleas was a state court in New York. Established in New Netherland in 1686, the Court remained in existence in the Province of New York and, after the American Revolution, in the U.S. state of New York until it was abolished in 1894. James Wilton Brooks writes in ''History of the Court of common pleas of the city and county of New York'' (1896) that: The Court of Common Pleas, founded in 1686, in the City of New York, extended in 1691 throughout the State, restricted again in 1846 to the City of New York, and finally, in accordance with the amended State Constitution of 1894, passing out of existence on the thirty-first of December, 1895, was the oldest judicial tribunal in the state of New York. It succeeded "The Worshipful Court of the Schout, Burgomasters and Schepens", which was established in 1653 and may thus be said to have had a continuous existence of nearly two centuries and a half.〔Brooks, James Wilton. ''(History of the Court of common pleas of the city and county of New York ).'' New York: 1896.〕 ==New Netherland== The Dutch West India Company established the colony of New Netherland, centered around New Amsterdam in Manhattan, in 1623. Brooks writes that for many years no provision was made for the administration for justice in the colony. In 1623, Peter Minuit, shortly after being appointed Director-General of New Netherland, formed a council of five, which held legislative, executive, and judicial powers. A Dutch colonial official called the Schout was also attached to this body. Together the Governor, Schout, and Council were supervised by the Dutch colonial authorities at Amsterdam. These authorities carried out judicial powers from 1626 to 1637, during Minuit's six years as Director-General and during four years of the term of his successor, Wouter van Twiller.〔 Although records were kept, no records have survived detailing judicial proceedings under the Council. The Schout Fiscal was a combination of prosecutor, sheriff, chief of police, constable, and warden with the duty to "under the orders of the Governor's Council to arrest and arraign on behalf of the Company all persons accused of crime, to superintend the trial, and see to the proper carrying out of the sentence." Despite this concentration of powers, however, some rights of the accused were observed, including the consideration of evidence for the prisoner and a speedy trial. The Schout was also required to "keep a strict account of all information taken by him and of all criminal trials, and regularly transmit reports to the Company's main offices in Holland." The Schout also has executive power to enforce the laws and rules of the States-General of the Netherlands.〔 Patroon courts were first established in 1630. Patroons (from the Dutch for owner or head of a company) were landholders with manorial rights to large tracts of land in New Netherland in North America along the Hudson River. Through the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions of 1629, the Dutch West India Company first started to grant this title and land to some of its invested members. These inducements to foster immigration were known as the "Rights and Exemptions," more commonly known as the patroon system. patroon acted as feudal lords, with the power to create civil and criminal courts, appoint local officials and hold land in perpetuity, and in return was commissioned by the Dutch West India Company to establish a settlement of at least 50 families within four years on the land. The patroon exercised within his authority "unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction...even the power of life and death," subject to an appeal to the Governor.〔 When Peter Stuyvesant became governor in 1647, he immediately established a Court of Justice with the broad jurisdiction to decide "all cases whatsoever," with the directive to refer cases of any importance to the governor for approval. Brooks writes that this scheme produced "popular discount," resulting in a "wrangle between the governor and the colonies, which brought about a number of trips to Holland, covered a number of years and abounded in dramatic incidents."〔 This led to the formation in 1653, of the The Worshipful Court of the Schout, Burgomasters and Schepens. This tribunal consisted of the Schout, four Burgomasters, and nine Schepens. Like the Schout, the position of the Burgomaster and Schepen came from the Netherlands. The Burgomasters were administrators who rotated three-month terms "to attend at City Hall for the dispatch of public business." Schepens (aldermen) were judicial officers with jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters. Together, the three orders of officers formed a college and enacted laws and ordinances for the city, analogous to the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The body, collectively known as the Lords of the Court of the City of New Amsterdam, was headed either by a chosen president or the senior Burgomaster.〔 The court was held at least every two weeks and often every week; the parties before the court stated the case and the judges rendered a decision based on the facts or arbitrators were appointed to review the case and proposed a compromise between the parties. Appeals to the court from the arbitrators' decisions were rare. In the case of a difference in how parties stated the facts, witnesses were called and affidavits presented or depositions taken.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New York Court of Common Pleas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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