Since the 13th century, jurisdiction in Wiesbaden was exercised by the court of aldermen. It was presided over by the Oberschultheiß appointed by the count, who also had a superior function in the jurisdiction of the entire lordship of Wiesbaden. He convened the court meeting and presided over it. Judgment was reserved for the aldermen. It wasn't until the 18th century that the Oberschultheiß gained influence over the judging process. In the meantime, the post was filled by a specialist lawyer and gradually transformed into the office of judge. The court of lay assessors was responsible for both civil and criminal jurisdiction as well as voluntary jurisdiction. It exercised blood jurisdiction on behalf of the sovereign until the middle of the 18th century. After that, the newly founded criminal court was responsible for serious crimes. Judicial practice was governed by the Peinliche Halsgerichtsordnung issued by Count Phillip the Altherrn (1511-1558) in February 1517, and later by the Peinliche Halsgerichtsordnung of Charles V from 1532, which remained in force until the 18th century and was supplemented by the Hesse-Darmstadt Criminal and Peinliche Gerichtsordnung of 1726.

When Wiesbaden became the seat of the Nassau government in 1744, the court also moved to Wiesbaden, which acted as the court of appeal. There was no further instance above this, as the princely house was not entitled to the "privilegium de non appellando" (privilege of appeal). The "office" responsible for the lowest instance was also housed in a building of the palace, the "Amtshaus". The Oberamtmann, as the representative of the prince, had to apprehend criminals in criminal cases and conduct the investigation. He then had to present the prepared cases to the court. The bailiff could impose prison sentences and fines for minor offenses. The Schultheiß was responsible for voluntary jurisdiction. He also exercised a certain amount of police power, but no longer had any judicial functions in the later 18th century. Despite these first attempts to separate government and jurisdiction, the sovereign, as the sole holder of governmental power, retained the final decision in criminal proceedings.

However, the judiciary in Wiesbaden was not unaffected by the political changes in Germany at the beginning of the 19th century. At the beginning of July 1804, the House of Nassau was granted the "privilegium de non appellando illimitatum". This gave it the privilege of generally prohibiting its subjects from appealing to the Imperial Court in legal disputes before their supreme courts. With the "Fürstlich Nassauisches Gesamt-Oberappellationsgericht" in Hadamar (from 1810 in Diez), a joint supreme authority for Nassau-Usingen, Nassau-Weilburg and Nassau-Oranien was established for the first time. After 1806, the offices continued to be the lowest court of jurisdiction, the court courts in Wiesbaden and Dillenburg were the second, the Higher Court of Appeal in Hadamar the third instance. The "Criminal Court" at Michelsberg was only an investigating authority. The criminal proceedings were still secret and in writing. For this reason, the famous "demands of the Nassau people" of March 2, 1848 included public and oral trials, the establishment of jury courts and the separation of justice and administration.

In the spring of 1849, the privileged place of jurisdiction for members of the nobility, senior civil servants and military personnel was abolished. The last remnants of patrimonial jurisdiction also ceased to exist. Justice and administration were separated at the lowest level, and the offices continued to be run as judicial offices. Finally, trial by jury was introduced, with oral and public proceedings. A new penal code was enacted, which was modeled on that of the neighboring Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. The Court and Court of Appeal moved into the former Hotel Schützenhof in 1849. Just two years after the revolution, the progress made in the court system was reversed. A new development began in 1866 with the alignment of Nassau's judicial organization with that of Prussia. Eleven district courts, three collegial district courts and one court of appeal based in Wiesbaden were now established in the Wiesbaden administrative district. On October 1, 1879, the so-called Reichsjustizgesetze - the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Bankruptcy Code, the Lawyers' Code and the Courts Constitution Act - came into force. The Courts Constitution Act established a uniform court organization throughout the German Reich. This consisted of local, regional and higher regional courts as well as the Reich Court in Leipzig. In Wiesbaden, a district court and a regional court were established due to the new legal situation. The Wiesbaden district court is an independent court with its own president at the top. Other courts located in Wiesbaden are the Labor Court, the Social Court and the Administrative Court.