HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 405 



ture shall, at its first meeting, elect a Chief Justice 

 and two Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, by 

 joint vote of both houses, and so classify them that 

 one shall go out of office every two years. After the 

 first election, the senior Justice in commission shall 

 be the Chief Justice. 



Sec. 4. The Supreme Court shall have appellate 

 jurisdiction in all cases when the matter in dispute 

 exceeds two hundred dollars, when the legality of 

 any tax, toll, or impost, or municipal fine is in ques- 

 tion : and in all criminal cases amounting to felony, 

 or questions of law alone. And the said court £nd 

 each of the Justices thereof, as well as all district and 

 county judges, shall have power to issue writs of ha- 

 beas corpus, at the instance of any person held in 

 actual custody. They shall also have power to issue 

 all other writs and process necessary to the exercise 

 of the appellate jurisdiction, and shall be conserva- 

 tors of the peace throughout the State. 



Sec. 5. The State shall be divided by the first 

 Legislature into a convenient number of districts, 

 subject to such alteration from time to time as the 

 public good may require ; for each of which a district 

 judge shall be appointed by the joint vote of the 

 legislature, at its first meeting, who shall hold his 

 office for two years from the first day of January 

 next after his election; after which, said judges shall 

 be elected by the qualified electors of their respective 

 districts, at the general election, and shall hold their 

 office for the term of six years. 



Sec. 6. The District Courts shall have original 



jurisdiction, in law and equity, in all civil cases where 



the amount in dispute exceeds two hundred dollars, 



exclusive of interest. In all criminal cases not other- 

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