Justice Ayre was a judicial circuit north and south of the River Forth in Scotland through the mainly English speaking areas. The

justiciar Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term ''justiciarius'' or ''justitiarius'' ("man of justice", i.e. judge). During the Middle Ages in England, the Chief Justiciar (later known simply as the Justiciar) was roughly equivalent ...

traveled this circuit to conduct criminal trials and other legal proceedings. This was a function of the

Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...

. Before each tour, the justiciar would order the local

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

to serve

indictments An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

on the accused individuals. The sheriff was also responsible for ensuring that the accused showed up for trial, along with the

jurors A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England duri ...

and the witnesses. .Macfarlane (1995), pp. 93–4

References

Sources

* * High Court of Justiciary 1672 establishments in Scotland Scotland {{Scotland-law-stub