42 
Indiana* University Studies 
tion of the issues is practically left in the hands of the trial 
attorneys, outside of the courtroom, and they accomplish or 
fail to accomplish their purpose by serving pleadings on each 
other. The first pleading of the plaintiff in a code state is 
usually called a complaint ; the first pleading of the defendant, 
the answer, if he desires to raise an issue of fact; or a de- 
murrer, if he desires to raise an issue of law ; and to an answer 
the plaintiff may make a reply, or a demurrer. At the com- 
mon law the first pleading of the plaintiff was called a declara- 
tion. This could be met by the defendant by a demurrer 
(general or special), or by a plea (either of the general issue 
or of common traverse, or of special traverse, or in confession 
and avoidance). The plea of the defendant could be met by 
the plaintiff by a demurrer (general or special), or by a 
replication (by way of traverse or by way of confession and 
avoidance). This in turn could be met by the defendant by 
a demurrer (general or special), or by a rejoinder (by way 
of traverse or by way of confession and avoidance) . The 
rejoinder could be met by the plaintiff by a demurrer (general 
or special), or by a surrejoinder (by way of traverse or by 
way of confession and avoidance). The surrejoinder could be 
met by the defendant by a demurrer (general or special), or 
by a rebutter (by way of traverse or by way of confession 
and avoidance). The rebutter could be met by the plaintiff 
by a demurrer (general or special), or by a surrebutter (by 
way of traverse). The United States has modified this com- 
mon law system of pleading by the adoption of code plead- 
ing. England has practically abandoned it. Any pleadings 
by attorneys are there now more nearly according to what 
would be called notice pleading. The rules of notice pleading 
proceed on the theory of giving notice of the opposing claims 
of the respective parties, sufficient to apprise them and the 
court of the nature thereof. In both issue (common law) 
pleading and essential fact (code) pleading the rules proceed 
on the theory of requiring a complete allegation of all the 
ultimate facts which must be proved at the trial in order to 
establish such claims. In other words, in both common law 
and code pleading, the pleadings are concerned not so much 
with presenting the case to the court for a fair trial as with 
testing the knowledge of the substantive law which the at- 
torneys of the parties have. This tends to make our legal pro- 
