496 



COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



whose exei rises were known by the name of we>tf>on-i/nurine; 

 and the same office is uu\v renewed in the establishment of the 

 militia in Scotland, the officers of which receive their commig- 

 sions from the tkeriff, or lord lieutenant a* he is now railed 

 >f the county. The otl'u I sheriff was of old hereditary in tin- 

 great families j but, by an act of parliament in 1748, this and all 

 other offices poraessing hereditary jurisdiction, were either dis- 

 no.ved or annexed to tin- cmwn the jurisdiction of the magis- 

 trate* of royal burghs being preserved entire. The office of 

 sheriff, a* far as regardi legal matters, is now exercised by a 

 judge, called the iftfriff-depute, and his tubttitute. The former 

 is appointed by the crown, and must be a member of the faculty 

 of advocates. The sheriff receives tin- royal revenues from the 

 collectors within hi* district, which he pays into the exchequer; 

 he summons juries for the trials before the jury and justiciary 

 courts; he returns, as member of parliament for the county, 

 the person having a majority of suffrages ; he establishes, with 

 the assistance of a jury, the fiars or rates to be paid for grain, 

 that ouidit to be delivered when no precise price is stipulated ; 

 he has a civil jurisdiction in all canes, except in a contest for the 

 property of a landed estate; and a criminal one in' cases of 

 theft, and other smaller crimes. The decrees of this court are 

 subject to review by the supreme courts of session and justi- 

 ciary. 



The powers of jurisdiction vested in the magittratei of cities, 

 and of roiftU bur^ht, are somewhat similar to those of the she- 

 riffs, and are subject to the review of the supreme court. 1 he 

 Drun of Guild Court has lost considerably of its former import- 

 ance; being formerly authorized to decide in all causes between 

 merchants, and between merchant and mariner. Its office at 

 present is, to take care that buildings within the city or burgh 

 are carried on according' to law ; that encroachments be not 

 made in the public streets ; to judge in disputes between con- 

 terminous proprietors ; to consider the state of buildings, whe- 

 ther they be in a fair condition, or whether they threaten 

 damage to those dwelling in them, or to the neighbourhood, 

 from their ruinous state ; and to grant warrant fur repairing, 

 pulhng down, or rebuilding them, according to the circum- 

 stances of the case. The royal burghs of Scotland also form, as 

 it were, a commercial parliament, culled the Convention of 

 Royal hurghi, which meets once a-year at Edinburgh, consist- 

 ing of a representative from each burgh, to consult upon the 

 good of the whole. 



The Justice of Peace Court, established in 1609, is very 

 similar to that of England. Generally speaking, justices 

 judge in riots and breaches of tlie peace; appoint constables, 

 regulate highways, bridges, and ferries ; have authority to 

 punish vagrants, and offenders against penal laws; to judge 

 upon transgressions of the game laws, and concerning frauds 

 against the duties of customs and excise, besides various other 

 branches of juri.-diction. There is also a Justice of Peace or 

 Small Debt Court held monthly in every town, where causes 

 not exceeding j10 sterling are decided in a summary manner, 

 and at a small expense. The reader is referred for a full ac- 

 count of the Courts of England and Scotland to the " Book of 

 the Constitution, by Thomas Stephen," published at Glasgow, 

 in 1834. See also the articles England and Scotland in this En- 

 cyclopedia. 



COURTS OP THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. By the consti- 

 tution of the United States, which went into operation in the 

 year 1789, a limited extent of judicial power was confided to 

 the government of the union, the nature of which will be best 

 explained by quoting the very words in which it is given. The 

 third article of the constitution declares, 1. that " The judicial 

 power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme 

 court, and in such inferior courts as the congress may, from 

 time to time, ordain and establish The judges, both of the 

 supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good 

 behaviour, and shall, at stated time-, receive for their services a 

 compensation, which t>hall not be diminished during their con- 

 tinuance in office." 2. " The judicial power shall extend to all 

 cases in law and equity arising under this constitution, the 

 laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be 

 made, under their authority ; to all cases of admiralty and 

 maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United 

 States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or more 

 states ; between a state and citizens of another state ; between 

 citizens of different states; between citizens of the same state 

 claiming lands under grants of different states ; and between a 

 state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or 

 subjects." 3 " In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public 

 minister*, and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a 

 party, the supreme court shall have original jurisdiction. In 

 all the other cases before mentioned, the supreme court shall 

 have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such 

 exceptions, and tinder such regulations, as the congress shall 

 make." It is observable, that this enumeration of the various 

 classes of cases to which the judicial power may extend, does 

 not make it imperative upon congress to vest the whole juris- 

 diction in courts created by the general government; but 

 leaves much to the discretion of congress, as to the establish- 

 ment of courts, and the jurisdiction with which they shall be 

 clothed. In point of fact, congress has never legislated to the 

 extent of the judicial power authorized by the constitution. 

 Some branches of it remain undisposed of; and the courts of 

 the several states are left to net upon them as matters not ex- 

 clusively confided to the courts of the United States. At the 

 first session of congress, under the constitution, the organiza- 

 tion of the judicial establishment was made, which has sub- 

 stantially remained in force ever since. By a statute passed 

 Sept. 24, 1789, a supreme court was created, consisting of a 

 chief justice and five associate justices, since increased to six ; 

 and two 'classes of inferior courts, viz., circuit rouHa and dis- 



trict courts, were also creat-M. All the judges of the courts of 

 the United States are appointed by the president, by and itli 

 the consent of the senate of the United States, and cannot 

 otherwise be appointed. We shall now proceed to give a sum- 

 mary view of each of these courts bcfjinninir with tlio-e which 

 are the lowest in point of riiuk, and of the first instance. 



1. The District Courts, Each state in the confederacy con- 

 stitutes at least one judicial district, and the States of New 

 York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are divided into Uvo districts 

 by certain local limits. In each district, a court is appointed to 

 hold sessions, consisting of a single judge. The district com t- 

 possess criminal jurisdiction, exclusively of the state court'-, of 

 all crimes and offences against the United States, where the 

 punishment of whipping, not exceeding :iO stripe* (. Im-h is 

 now generally abolished), or a fine not exi-ceding 100 dollars, or 

 a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, is to lie in- 

 flicted. It also possesses civil jurisdiction of all civil causes of 

 admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; that is, of suits upon ma- 

 ritime contracts and maritime tort*; of seizures in rrm, and of 

 suits in pertonam for penalties and forfeitures incurred under 

 the laws of the United States; of all causes where an alien 

 sues for a tort only, in violation of the law of nations, or n 

 treaty of the United .states ; of all suits at common law. where 

 the government of the United States sue, or any officer thereof 

 sues, under the authority of any act of congress, whatever may 

 be the matter in dispute; and of all suits against consuls :, .1 

 vice-consuls. The district courts also possess the jurisdiction 

 of circuit courts in those districts where no circuit courts are 

 held, and also certain limited authorities under special law-. 



2. The Circuit Courtt. The United States are now divided 

 into seven circuits, in each of which a court is held, called a 

 circuit court. It consists of two judges, one of whom is a jus- 

 tice of the supreme court of the United States, and the other 

 is the district judge of the particular district in which the court 

 siti. The court may be held by either judge in the absence of 

 the other ; but the district judge cannot try causes brought by 

 appeal from his own decisions. Each circuit consists of at 

 least two states, and some of three states, and one of four 

 states. There are six states in which no circuit court sits; 

 and there the like duties are performed by the district judges. 

 The circuit courts possess original jurisdiction in all civil suits 

 at common law, or in equity, where the matter in dispute is 

 of the sum or value of 500 dollars, or upwards, and the United 

 States are plaintiffs ; or where an alien is a party ; or where 

 the suit is between a citizen of the state in which the suit is 

 brought, and a citizen of another state. They also possess ju- 

 risdiction in cases of patents for useful inventions, and of copy- 

 rights for books, &c. They have also exclu-ive jurisdiction of 

 all crimes and offences against the United States, not cognisable 

 in the district courts ; and concurrent jurisdiction with those 

 courts of all crimes and offences cognizable therein. They have 

 appellate jurisdiction of all final judgments and decrees of the 

 district courts, in all cases where the matter in dispute exceeds 

 50 dollars. Civil suits can be brought in the circuit and dis. 

 trict courts, by original process, against an inhabitant of the 

 United States, only in the district whereof he is an inhabitant, 

 or in which, at the time of serving the process, he may be 

 found ; and, in cases of negotiable securities for money, except 

 foreign bills, these courts cannot, by any transfer or assign- 

 ment of such securities, maintain jurisdiction, unless their ju- 

 risdiction could have attached independent of such transfer or 

 assignment. If a suit is commenced in a state court against an 

 alien or citizen of another state, and the matter hi dispute ex- 

 ceed 500 dollars, it may be removed into the circuit court, 

 which sits in the same state, and tried there according to cer- 

 tain regulations prescribed by law ; and a like removal may 

 take place where, in a suit in the state court, the parties claim 

 title to lands under a grant thereof from different states, that 

 is, where one party claims title under the state in which the 

 suit is brought, ana the other under another state. 



3. The Supreme Court consists of seven judges, as above 

 stated. It sits annually at the seat of government, on the se- 

 cond Monday of January. It possesses exclusive original ju- 

 risdiction of all controversies of a civil nature, where a state is 

 a party, except between a state and its citizens, and except, 

 also, between a state and citizens of other states and aliens, in 

 which latter case it has original but not exclusive jurisdiction. 

 It possesses also, exclusively, all such jurisdiction of suits and 

 proceedings against ambassadors, and other public ministers, or 

 their domestics, or domestic servants, as a court of law can have 

 or exercise consistently with the law of nations ; and original, 

 but not exclusive jurisdiction of all suits brought by ambassa- 

 dors, or other public ministers, or in which a consul or vice-con- 

 sul is a party. It possesses, also, appellate jurisdiction from the 

 final judgments and decrees of the circuit courts, and of the dis- 

 trict courts exercising circuit court powers, in all civil cases 

 where the matter in dispute exceeds 2000 dollars in value or 

 amount, and the causes were originally brought in or removed 

 into such circuit or district courts. It has also jurisdiction in 

 cases brought by way of appeal into the circuit courts from the 

 district courts, which word appeal has here a technical and some, 

 what peculiar sense, but not in cases brought by wr ts of error 

 from the district courts into the circuit courts. This difference 

 is more accidental than intentional, and proceeds from the dif- 

 ferent modes of process by which suits are brought into the ap- 

 pellate courts according to the course of the common law. The 

 terms of the statute conferring the jurisdiction are supposed to 

 limit the appellate jurisdiction to cases which did not get into the 

 circuit courts by the process of a writ of error, in its technical 

 sense. It is difficult to make the distinction clear to lawyers 

 bred in the civil law ; it is obvious to those bred in the coin, 

 mon law. The supreme court also possesses appellate jui isdic. 

 tion from the final decisions of the state courts, in cases in which 



