Court of Oyer and Terminer

E962

The Court of Oyer and Terminer was a special colonial Massachusetts tribunal notorious for conducting the Salem witch trials of 1692, during which it authorized numerous executions for alleged witchcraft.

All labels observed (10)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf colonial tribunal
court of law
special court
appliedLaw English colonial law
appointedBy Governor William Phips
authorityDerivedFrom royal charter of Massachusetts Bay
authorized executions for alleged witchcraft
chiefJudge William Stoughton
country Kingdom of England
dissolved 1692
establishedBy Governor William Phips
fieldOfWork criminal justice
historicalPeriod Colonial America
inception 1692
judge Bartholomew Gedney
John Hathorne
Jonathan Corwin
Peter Sargeant
Samuel Sewall
Wait Winthrop
jurisdiction Province of Massachusetts Bay
languageOfWork English
legacy symbol of judicial excess in witchcraft prosecutions
legalForm special commission
location Boston, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
mandate try cases of witchcraft in Essex County
notableFor conducting the Salem witch trials
notableOutcome mass executions for alleged witchcraft
numberOfPeopleExecuted 19 by hanging
numberOfPeoplePressedToDeath 1
operatingLanguage English
partOf legal system of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
presidingOfficer William Stoughton
reasonForAbolition controversy over use of spectral evidence
public disapproval of witchcraft convictions
replacedBy Superior Court of Judicature of Massachusetts
significantEvent Salem witch trials
subjectOf historical studies of the Salem witch trials
legal analyses of spectral evidence
timePeriod 1692 Salem witchcraft panic
linked to: Salem witch trials
triedPerson Bridget Bishop
George Burroughs
Giles Corey
John Proctor
Martha Corey
Rebecca Nurse
Sarah Good
usedEvidenceType spectral evidence

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (13)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Salem witch trials hasPart Court of Oyer and Terminer trials
linked to: Court of Oyer and Terminer
Salem witch trials hasPart Superior Court of Judicature trials
linked to: Court of Oyer and Terminer
Salem witch trials courtInvolved Court of Oyer and Terminer
Salem witch trials courtInvolved Superior Court of Judicature
linked to: Court of Oyer and Terminer
Governor William Phips later prohibited further arrests for witchcraft precededBy establishment of the Court of Oyer and Terminer
linked to: Court of Oyer and Terminer
town of Salem (historical jurisdiction) hasCourt Court of Oyer and Terminer (for Salem witch trials)
linked to: Court of Oyer and Terminer
Bridget Bishop legalJurisdiction Court of Oyer and Terminer, Massachusetts Bay Colony
linked to: Court of Oyer and Terminer
Susannah Martin convictedBy Court of Oyer and Terminer
Mary Easty convictedBy Court of Oyer and Terminer
Mary Warren pressuredBy the Salem court
linked to: Court of Oyer and Terminer
Martha Carrier court Court of Oyer and Terminer, Salem
linked to: Court of Oyer and Terminer
Bridget Playfer convictedIn Court of Oyer and Terminer
New York Conspiracy of 1741 legalProcess special court of oyer and terminer
linked to: Court of Oyer and Terminer