The same court is sometimes said to have different sides; that is, different provinces or fields of jurisdiction. Thus, an admiralty court may have an “instance side,” distinct from Its powers as a prize court; the “crown side,” (criminal jurisdiction) is to be distinguished from the “plea side,” (civil Jurisdlction;) the same court may have an “equlty side” and a “law side.”
Source: Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed (1910)
