Court of Record COMMENTARY ↓
close
This writer concludes, from the definitions below, that a court of record is a court which must meet the following criteria:
1. generally has a seal
2. power to fine or imprison for contempt
3. keeps a record of the proceedings
4. proceeding according to the common law (not statutes or codes)
5. the tribunal is independent of the magistrate (judge) Note that a judge is a magistrate and is not the tribunal.
The tribunal is either the sovereign himself, or a fully empowered jury (not paid by the government) — Black's Law Dictionary, 4th Ed., 425, 426