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The Inns of Court Page 2
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"Barrister" In England , an advocate; a counselor learned in the law who has been admitted to plead at the bar, and who is engaged in conducting the trial or argument of causes. A person called to the bar by the benches of the Inns of Court, giving exclusive right of audience in the Supreme Court. Hmmmmm! I didn't know that England HAD a Supreme Court! I know that they have courts of chancery, bankruptcy, exchequer, admiralty, and so forth, but that is a new one on me. It could not possibly be that there are actually Barristers and Inns of Court members, and specially privileged Noblemen running around in America without the expressed permission of congress, could it?

"Governed" No entry, but for Govern, on page 478 of Black's Sixth edition, we find: "To direct and control the actions or conduct of, either by established laws or by arbitrary will; to direct and control, rule, or regulate, by authority. To be a rule, precedent, law or deciding principle for."

"Officers" of the many kinds and definitions, the most pertinent are: "Person holding officer of trust, command or authority in corporation, government, armed services, or other institution or organization." And "In corporations, a person charged with important functions of management such as president, vice president, treasurer, etc.?

"Bench" pg. 107 of Black's Sixth edition: "A seat of judgment or tribunal for the administration of justice. The seat occupied by judges in courts. Also, the court itself, or the aggregate of the judges composing a court, as in the phrase before the full bench." Compare Bar.

also: "The judges taken collectively, as distinguished from counselors and advocates, who are called the bar."

also: "The term, indicating originally the seat of the judges, came to denote the body of judges taken collectively, and also the tribunal itself, as the King's Bench." [Are you getting the picture?]

also of interest: Bench legislation; Bench Mark, Bench trial, Bench warrant. Bench legislation: see judge-made law A phrase used to indicate judicial decisions which construe away the meaning of statutes, or find meanings in them the legislature never intended. It is perhaps more commonly used as meaning, simply, the law established by judicial precedent and decisions. Laws having their source in judicial decisions as opposed to laws having their source in statutes or administrative regulations. Black's Sixth edition, Pg. 585 & 586

"Degree" Extent, measure or scope of an action, condition or regulation. Legal extent of guilt or negligence. Title conferred on graduates of school, college, or university. The state or civil condition of a person. The grade or distance one thing may be removed from another; i.e., the distance, or number of removes, which separates two persons who are related by consanguinity. Thus we speak of a brother as being in the second degree of kindred.

"Barrister" In England , an advocate; a counselor learned in the law who has been admitted to plead at the bar, and who is engaged in conducting the trial or argument of causes. A person called to the bar by the benchers of the Inns of Court, giving exclusive rights of audience in the Supreme Court.

"Require" "To direct, order, demand, instruct, command, claim, compel, request, need, exact. To be in need of. To ask for authoritatively or imperatively."

"Practice" "Repeated or customary action; habitual performance; a succession of acts of similar kind; custom; usage. Application of science to the wants of men. The exercise of any profession. The form or mode or proceeding in courts of justice for the enforcement of rights or the redress of wrongs, as distinguished from the substantive law which gives the right or denounces the wrong. The form, manner, or order of instituting and conducting an action or other judicial proceeding, through its successive stages to its end, in accordance with the rules and principles laid down by law or by the regulations and precedents of the courts. The term applies as well to the conduct of criminal as to civil actions, to proceedings in equity as well as at law, and to the defense as well as the prosecution of any proceeding."

"Practice of law" "The rendition of services requiring the knowledge and the application of legal principles and technique to serve the interests of another with his consent. It is not limited to appearing in court, or advising and performing of services in the conduct of the various shapes of litigation, but embraces the preparation of pleadings, and other papers incident to actions and special proceedings, and in larger sense includes legal advice and counsel and preparation of legal instruments by which legal rights and obligations are established. A person engages in the practice of law by maintaining an office where is held out to be an attorney, using a letterhead describing himself as an attorney, counseling clients in legal matters, negotiating with opposing counsel about pending litigation, and fixing a collecting fees for services rendered by his associate."

"Advocate" "One who assists, defends, or pleads for another. One who renders legal advice and aid and pleads the cause of another before a court or a tribunal, a counselor. A person learned in the law, and duly admitted to practice, who assists his client with advice, and pleads for him in open court. An assistant; adviser, a pleader of causes."

"Counsel" Attorney or counselor (q.v.) Advice and assistance given by one person to another in regard to a legal matter, proposed line of conduct, claim, or contention. The words counsel and advise may be, and frequently are, used in criminal law to describe the offense of a person who, not actually doing the felonious act, by his will contributed to it or procured it to be done.

"Counsellor" "An attorney: lawyer. Member of the legal profession who gives legal advice and handles the legal affairs of client, including, if necessary, appearing on his or her behalf in civil, criminal, or administrative actions and proceedings."

"Superior courts" "Courts of general or extensive jurisdiction, as distinguished from the inferior courts. As the official style of a tribunal, the term superior court bears a different meaning in different states. In some it is a court of intermediate jurisdiction between the trial courts and the chief appellate court; elsewhere it is the designation of the trail courts."

and from sources OTHER than Black's Law Dictionary:

Nobility is defined as 1: the quality or state of being noble in character, quality or rank. 2: the body of persons forming the noble class in a country or state: ARISTOCRACY.

Aristocracy is defined as 1: government by the best individuals or a small privileged class... 3: a governing body or upper class usually made up of a hereditary nobility.

I always find it interesting when a word is used to define itself?
The "Inns of Court" obviously refers to a collection of very powerful and influential people. Like a good newspaper reporter in days gone by, let us discover: Who are they? What are they? When did they exist? Where do they live and work? Why are they important today?

Who are the Inns of Court? They are the associations that select ALL of the people who practice law in all of the higher courts in the land, including the judges and magistrates. Because they possess this exclusive power, this means that they have the power of controlling the way that the laws are interpreted. By controlling the way in which the laws are interpreted, the Inns of Court have the entire wealth of the nation in their grasp.

What are the Inns of Court? They are private associations. Private, in this sense, means not a publicly controlled entity. Being private, and not under the control of the government, this means that no one, I mean NO ONE, votes for the Inns of Court. Also, this means that the people of any nation that has Inns of Court have absolutely no control over the system of justice in their country. Don't you breathe a big sigh of relief when you read that the Inns of Court are located in London. We, as Free Sovereigns on the Soil of America, certainly would want to retain control over the courts in our own country.

When did/do the Inns of Court operate? Finally, we have a simple question with a simple answer. The Inns of Court began in England in the mid fourteenth century, and have operated continuously in America between the day that the first British Esquire stepped foot on American soil and the present day. This does not mean that there has been an " Inn" on American soil, only that the Barristers and Benches have been in control of the American legal system since before the Constitution of 1787 was written. The Inns of Court members are mentioned in the Declaration of Independence where it says that "He has sent hither swarms of officers to harass out people and eat out their substance."