Overview
Common Serjeant
Quick Reference
The title held by one of the circuit judges at the Central Criminal Court. It was formerly an ancient office of the City of London, first mentioned in its records in 1291. Serjeants-at-law were the highest order at the English Bar from the 13th or 14th centuries until the King's Counsel took priority in the 17th century. Until 1873 the judges of the common law courts were appointed from the serjeants; the order of serjeants was dissolved in 1877. The title remains, however, for a circuit judge who has a ten-year Crown Court qualification and who has been appointed a Common Serjeant by the Crown.
From: Common Serjeant in A Dictionary of Law »
Subjects: Law
