Quarter sessions kept short and to the point (5)
I believe the answer is:
terse
'short and to the point' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'quarter sessions kept' is the wordplay.
'kept' indicates a hidden word.
'TERSE' is hidden in the letters of 'quarter sessions'.
(Other definitions for terse that I've seen before include "Curt, laconic of speech" , "Pithy and concise" , "Curtly brief" , "Curt among trees" , "Pithy among trees" .)