62 GAME COMMISSIONS AND WARDENS. 



the State prison or for long terms in a county jail, and is the mode 

 most frequentty adopted in cases cognizable by courts of general 

 jurisdiction and in the Federal courts. 



At common law an information was allowed only in cases of misde- 

 meanor, but in the United States the practice is not uniform, and the 

 constitution and statutes of each State must be consulted to determine 

 where and under what circumstances and in what prosecutions it lies. 

 In many States and instances indictment and information are concur- 

 rent remedies, and either mode may be pursued. Where such is the 

 case, information seems to be the most expeditious and satisfactory 

 remedy. But this latter, like an indictment, is usually confined to 

 prosecutions of which the superior courts entertain jurisdiction. 



Complaints and affidavits are the usual modes of procedure before 

 justices of the peace and other inferior courts exercising limited juris- 

 diction. As offenses against the game laws are ordinarily misde- 

 meanors and triable by such courts this mode of accusation is the one 

 most commonly employed. 



The maximum fine and term of imprisonment prescribed for a vio- 

 lation of the game law ordinarily determine what court has jurisdic- 

 tion of the offense, and consequently what mode of accusation is 

 appropriate. 



STATUTES OF LIMITATION. 



At common law a person committing a crime can be punished at 

 any time, no matter how great the period intervening between the 

 commission of the offense and his apprehension. But it is the policy 

 in this country to set at rest criminal charges after the lapse of a 

 specified time. With the apparent exceptions of South Carolina and 

 Wyoming, ever}^ State has assigned a time within which a criminal 

 action must be commenced; otherwise the defendant can not be legally 

 convicted. The statute usually begins to run from the commission or 

 consummation of the offense, but in a few States it runs from the time 

 of discovery of the crime. A general statute ordinarily controls this 

 subject, but the limitation is specifically prescribed by the game law 

 in Illinois, Michigan (certain offenses), Minnesota, Pennsylvania (cer- 

 tain offenses), Rhode Island (certain offenses), and South Dakota (offenses 

 concerning small game). A comparison of such limitations shows the 

 average time to be one year. California, Colorado, Montana, and 

 Wyoming make violation of certain provisions of their game laws, 

 felonies, and in the first three States this has an important bearing 

 upon the limitation of the prosecution. Felonies in California and 

 Colorado may be prosecuted within three years, and in Montana within 

 five, whereas in California and Montana mere misdemeanors are barred 

 after one year and in Colorado, after a year and a half. The offenses 

 which are declared felonies by the game laws in these States are as 



