AGY-4799 | Maitland Court of General and Quarter Sessions

Full description

The Maitland Court of General and Quarter Sessions was established by January 1833 (1). Initially there was no district structure of the Court which met as required to hear less serious criminal matters. When the Courts of General and Quarter Sessions were arranged into districts Maitland was placed in the Northern District until 1865. From 1866 until 1877 Maitland was located in the Metropolitan and Coast District. From 1878 until 1890 the Maitland Court was within the Metropolitan and Hunter District, from 1891 to 1902 in the Metropolitan, Suburban and Hunter District, and from 1903 to 1954 in the Southern and Hunter District. The court appears to have been superseded by East Maitland Court of General and Quarter Sessions in 1954. Records indicate that after the establishment of East Maitland Court of General and Quarter Sessions and West Maitland Court of General and Quarter Sessions in 1858 (2) the domiciles of Maitland Court of General and Quarter Sessions and East Maitland Court of General and Quarter Sessions and West Maitland Court of General and Quarter Sessions were used interchangeably for some time but the Courts operated concurrently (3). The role of the Court of Quarter Sessions was to hear less serious criminal cases. The dates of hearings at the Maitland Court were proclaimed in the NSW Government Gazette. Endnotes:
(1) NSW Government Gazette 3 October, 1832 p.317
(2) NSW Government Gazette 9 December 1858 p.2174
(3) NSW Government Gazette 143 September, 1861 p.1965
Reference:
Law Almanac, NSW Government Printer, 1882 - 1973