chief justice

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
chief justice
    n 1: the judge who presides over a supreme court
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Justice \Jus"tice\ (j[u^]s"t[i^]s), n. [F., fr. L. justitia, fr.
   justus just. See {Just}, a.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. The quality of being just; conformity to the principles of
      righteousness and rectitude in all things; strict
      performance of moral obligations; practical conformity to
      human or divine law; integrity in the dealings of men with
      each other; rectitude; equity; uprightness.
      [1913 Webster]

            Justice and judgment are the haditation of thy
            throne.                               --Ps. ixxxix.
                                                  11.
      [1913 Webster]

            The king-becoming graces,
            As justice, verity, temperance, stableness, . . .
            I have no relish of them.             --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Conformity to truth and reality in expressing opinions and
      in conduct; fair representation of facts respecting merit
      or demerit; honesty; fidelity; impartiality; as, the
      justice of a description or of a judgment; historical
      justice.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. The rendering to every one his due or right; just
      treatment; requital of desert; merited reward or
      punishment; that which is due to one's conduct or motives.
      [1913 Webster]

            This even-handed justice
            Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice
            To our own lips.                      --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Agreeableness to right; equity; justness; as, the justice
      of a claim.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. A person duly commissioned to hold courts, or to try and
      decide controversies and administer justice.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: This title is given to the judges of the common law
         courts in England and in the United States, and extends
         to judicial officers and magistrates of every grade.
         [1913 Webster]

   {Bed of justice}. See under {Bed}.

   {Chief justice}. See in the Vocabulary.

   {Justice of the peace} (Law), a judicial officer or
      subordinate magistrate appointed for the conservation of
      the peace in a specified district, with other incidental
      powers specified in his commission. In the United States a
      justice of the peace has jurisdiction to adjudicate
      certain minor cases, commit offenders, officiate at
      marriages, etc.; abbreviated JP.

   Syn: Equity; law; right; rectitude; honesty; integrity;
        uprightness; fairness; impartiality.

   Usage: {Justice}, {Equity}, {Law}. Justice and equity are the
          same; but human laws, though designed to secure
          justice, are of necessity imperfect, and hence what is
          strictly legal is at times far from being equitable or
          just. Here a court of equity comes in to redress the
          grievances. It does so, as distinguished from courts
          of law; and as the latter are often styled courts of
          justice, some have fancied that there is in this case
          a conflict between justice and equity. The real
          conflict is against the working of the law; this a
          court of equity brings into accordance with the claims
          of justice. It would be an unfortunate use of language
          which should lead any one to imagine he might have
          justice on his side while practicing iniquity
          (inequity). {Justice}, {Rectitude}. Rectitude, in its
          widest sense, is one of the most comprehensive words
          in our language, denoting absolute conformity to the
          rule of right in principle and practice. Justice
          refers more especially to the carrying out of law, and
          has been considered by moralists as of three kinds:
          (1) Commutative justice, which gives every man his own
          property, including things pledged by promise. (2)
          Distributive justice, which gives every man his exact
          deserts. (3) General justice, which carries out all
          the ends of law, though not in every case through the
          precise channels of commutative or distributive
          justice; as we see often done by a parent or a ruler
          in his dealings with those who are subject to his
          control.
          [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Chief justice \Chief" jus"tice\
   The presiding justice, or principal judge, of a court.
   [1913 Webster]

   {Lord Chief Justice of England}, The presiding judge of the
      Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice. The
      highest judicial officer of the realm is the Lord High
      Chancellor.

   {Chief Justice of the United States}, the presiding judge of
      the Supreme Court, and Highest judicial officer of the
      republic.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
CHIEF JUSTICE, officer. The president  of a supreme court; as the chief 
justice of the United States, the chief justice of Pennsylvania, and the 
like. Vide 15 Vin. Ab. 3. 
    

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