The Salem Witch Trials were an important time in the history of America as well as an example of what can happen when people start to distrust each other. Neighbor turned against neighbor and several were accused of witchery. As these jails filled up smaller courts were swamped with witchcraft cases. At the time there was no main court to deal with these matters so most accused people were left sitting in jail with no court to go to, seeing as all of the existing courts were to busy. Sarah Osborne, an accused witch, even died in jail because she was there so long with no court to go to (Woods 37). When the governor returned from England he realized that something had to be done to help clear the jails, so he created the Court of Oyer and Terminer to deal with witchcraft cases (“Procedures”). The Court of Oyer and Terminer played an important role in the accusation and punishment of witches throughout the Salem witch trials, from its creation up until it was dissolved. …show more content…
He called it the Court of Oyer and Terminer because “Oyer and Terminer” means to “hear and determine” and it's exactly what the court did during the Salem Witch Trials. It listened to the witchcraft cases and determined if they were true or not and if the “witch” should be executed for being a witch (“Procedures”; Lewis). The court was created to hear all cases; felonies, treasons, and misdemeanors (Lewis). Phips then allowed the Court of Oyer and Terminer to hear the witchcraft trials (Woods 54), which was why it was specifically created (Louis-Jacques) and the reason why the governor had created the court separate from the church (G, Nora). For the court's jury Phips appointed all puritan magistrates. They created all puritan juries which ended up making the court biased and made the trials worse