Legal Definitions - temere jurantes super assisam

Temere jurantes super assisam is a historical legal term that translates from Law Latin to "those swearing rashly upon an assize."

It refers to individuals in medieval England who took a solemn oath during an assize – a specific type of court session or judicial inquiry – without due care, consideration, or regard for the truth. Essentially, it describes the act of swearing an oath carelessly or recklessly, rather than with the solemnity and factual accuracy required by law.

Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

• Imagine a witness called before an assize to testify in a dispute over land ownership. This witness, perhaps a local farmer, is asked to swear an oath regarding the historical boundaries of a particular field. Instead of carefully recalling the facts or admitting uncertainty, the farmer, eager to appear helpful or simply to get the proceedings over with, makes a definitive statement about the boundaries that he has only heard as rumor or vaguely remembers from childhood, without truly verifying its accuracy. This would be an instance of temere jurantes super assisam, as the farmer swore rashly without a firm basis in truth.

• Consider a juror serving on a criminal assize in the 13th century. Before deliberations, all jurors would swear an oath to deliver a verdict based solely on the evidence presented. However, one juror, perhaps tired after a long day of testimony or influenced by a personal dislike for the accused, decides to vote "guilty" without fully processing all the arguments or carefully weighing the evidence. By swearing to uphold justice and then making a decision based on impatience or prejudice rather than careful consideration of the facts, this juror would be acting as one of the temere jurantes super assisam.

• During an assize convened to resolve a local dispute concerning a traditional right-of-way through a village, an elderly resident is called upon to testify under oath about the long-standing custom. The resident, feeling pressured to provide a clear answer and perhaps slightly confused by the legal questioning, swears definitively that the path has always been public, even though they only vaguely recall its usage and have no direct, certain knowledge of its historical status. This careless affirmation of a fact under oath, without genuine certainty, exemplifies temere jurantes super assisam.