Simple English definitions for legal terms
Read a random definition: Section 8 affidavit
General Jail Delivery: When a group of prisoners escape from jail or when all the prisoners in a jail are tried for the crimes they are accused of committing. Sometimes, many prisoners are found not guilty because of mistakes made by the people in charge of the law. In the past, judges were given a special order to clear out a jail by trying all the inmates. This was called a commission of gaol delivery.
Definition: General jail delivery refers to the process of clearing a jail by trying all inmates for the offenses they are accused of committing. It can also refer to an escape by several prisoners from a jail or a situation where there are high numbers of acquittals due to lax or reckless administration of the law or defects in the law.
These examples illustrate different situations where the term "general jail delivery" can be used. The first example shows an escape by several prisoners, which is one of the meanings of the term. The second example shows the process of clearing a jail by trying all inmates, which is the original meaning of the term. The third example shows a situation where there are high numbers of acquittals due to defects in the law, which is another meaning of the term.