Bill Thornton and the Common Law (www.1215.org)
Court of Record
COMMENTARY
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)
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Black's Law Dictionary, 4th Ed., 425, 426
