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Ibid. s. 17.

In the case of any clerk.

In the case of a constable.

XVI. Fines for neglect of duty in towns, officers and jurors, relative to the provisions of the statute.

By the same statute, the selectmen, town, constable, clerk of the town, clerk of the court, sheriff, or juror, who, having no justifiable cause therefor, shall neglect to discharge the duties incumbent on them, him, or it, respectively by this act, shall be subjected to the respective fines and amercements named to be assessed, ordered and imposed by the court, in reference to whose jurors such neglect or failures may have taken place; namely, a fine, not exceeding twenty dollars, at the discretion of the court, on any selectmen or town clerk, who shall so selectman or town neglect to perform his or their duty herein described, as by means whereof the jurors called for from his or their town, shall not be returned; a fine, not exceeding twenty dollars, at the discretion of the court, on any constable who shall so neglect to perform the duties devolved on him by the act, by means whereof there shall be a failure of the jurors called from his town as aforesaid; a fine or amercement, not exceeding one hundred dollars, at the discretion of the court, on any town which shall so neglect the duties herein enjoined on it, or thereby to occasion a failure of the jurors called for, from such town; a fine, at the discretion of the court, not exceeding fifty dolor the court's clerk. lars, on their clerk or the sheriff, who shall so neglect the duties enjoined on them respectively by this act, as to prevent a compliance with any of its proviIn the case of jurors. sions; a fine on any juror drawn, notified and returned, in the manner as above described, who shall unnecessarily fail of his attendance, and not being an inhabitant of Boston, Salem, Newburyport or Portland, not exceeding twenty dollars, and if an inhabitant of either of these towns, not exceeding forty dollars, to be divided equally among the jurors who shall attend and serve; and a fine, not exceeding eighty dollars, on any town-clerk or selectman who shall be guilty of any fraud, either in man or town-clerk. practising on the jury-box previously to a draft, or in the

In the case of towns.

In the case of a sheriff

In the case of fraud

on the part of a select

drawing a juror, or in returning the name of any juror into the box, which had been fairly drawn out, and drawing or substituting some other one in his stead, or in any other way whatsoever.

XVII. How such fines shall be recovered and appropriated.

Ibid. s. 17.

How appropriated.

How recovered.

Time of prosecution.

All such fines, which the selectmen, constable, townclerk, sheriff, or clerk of a court, shall incur by virtue of the act, for any neglect, shall be to the use of the county in which the offender dwelt at the time of neglect, to be recovered by indictment, information, or an action brought by the treasurer of the county, before any court having jurisdiction of the offence, provided the action. shall be brought within twelve months after the offence shall have been committed; such fines or amercements as shall be ordered or imposed on towns for any neglect Appropriation of fines of their duties as before specified, shall be to the use of the county in which the offending town may be; and all Appropriations of fines and forfeitures for any of the frauds, by town-clerks fines for frauds. or selectmen as above-mentioned, shall be recovered by action of debt, in any court having jurisdiction thereof; one moiety thereof to be, and inure to the commonwealth; the other moiety to him or them who shall prosecute and recover the same.

on towns.

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TITLE XCIV.

Const. c. 2, s. 1, art. 9.

How appointed.

Ibid. c. 3. art. 3.

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

1. Or the appointment of justices of the peace, and

F

the time for which they are commissioned.

2. Of their general jurisdiction in civil cases.

3. Of the pleadings before justices of the peace.

4. Of the general power and jurisdiction of justices of the peace in criminal cases.

5. Of the power of justices of the peace relative to offenders charged with having committed crimes in another state.

6. Proceedings by which to recover the contents of a judgment rendered by a justice since deceased.

7. Duty of justices of the peace to account for fines by them received, and the penalty for neglect of such duty.

I. Of the appointment of justices of the peace, and the time for which they are commissioned.

Justices of the peace are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the council.

That the people may not suffer from the long continuance in place of any justice of the peace, who shall fail commissions expire. of discharging the important duties of his office with

At what time their

ability or fidelity, the constitution has provided, that all commissions of justices of the peace shall expire and become void, in the term of seven years from their respective dates; and upon the expiration of any commission, the same may, if necessary, be renewed, or another person appointed, as shall most conduce to the well-being of the commonwealth.

Stat. 1788, c..19, s. 2.

What doings are

By statute it is enacted, that all justices of the peace before whom actions may be commenced under former commissions, and such commissions have or shall expire valid after their com missions have expired. before judgment has been or shall be rendered thereon; or judgment being rendered, the same remains in whole. or in part unsatisfied; such justices of the peace, who have or shall have their said commissions seasonably renewed, and being duly qualified agreeably to the constitution of this commonwealth, to act under such commissions, are authorized and empowered, to render judgment and issue execution on all such actions commenced as aforesaid, in the same manner as if the commissions under which such actions were or may be commenced, were in full force.

before they can act.

A justice of the peace is prohibited from receiving any Stat. 1795, c. 80, s. 4. fees of office until he has paid to the treasurer of his What sum they must county the sum of two dollars. The justice must receive pay to the treasury from the treasurer a certificate of the payment of this sum; and this certificate must be lodged with the secretary of the commonwealth.

II. Of their general jurisdiction in civil cases.

Stat. 1783, c. 42, s. 1.

Of what cases they

By statute it is enacted, that all manner of debts, trespasses (1) and other matters not exceeding the value of four pounds, (2) (and wherein the title of real estate is not have jurisdiction. in question) shall, and may be heard, tried, adjudged and determined by any justice of the peace within his county; and the justices are severally empowered to grant summons, capias and attachment, at the request of any person applying for the same, directed to some proper officer within the same county, empowered by law to execute the same.

(1) As well quare clausum fregit as others.

Stat. 1797, c. 21, s. 1.

(2) By a late statute, the jurisdiction of justices of the peace is extended to cases where the debt or damage does not exceed twenty dollars.

Ibid.

Service of writs issued by them.

Judgment before them by default.

And such summons or capias and attachment shall be duly served by such officer, seven days at least before the day therein set for trial, otherwise the party sued shall not be held to answer thereon; and if after such process shall be duly served, the party sued, after being duly called, shall not appear to answer to the same suit, the charge against him in the declaration shall be taken to be true, and the justice shall give judgment against him for such damages as he shall find the plaintiff to have sustained, with costs; and if the person sued shall apWhere the party ap- pear to defend the suit or oppose the same, the justice shall award such damages as he shall find the plaintiff to have sustained. Provided, that no more damages than the sum of eighty shillings (3) shall be awarded in any action originally brought or tried before a justice of the peace; but if the plaintiff shall not support his action, shall fail to prosecute, or become non-suit, the justice shall award to the party sued, his reasonable costs, taxed as the law directs.

Costs.

pears.

Damages.

Costs.

Ibid.

Execution.

Ibid. s. 2.

Adjournment of trials.

Ibid. s. 4.

When an Cxecutor or

of waste.

And upon all judgments given by a justice of the peace, in civil actions, he shall award execution thereon, in form by law prescribed.

And every justice of the peace shall have power, by proclamation, to adjourn the trial of any action brought before him, from time to time, when equity may require it but he shall not be of counsel to either party, or undertake to advise or assist any party in a suit before him.

Whenever an executor or administrator shall be guilty of committing waste, whereby he is rendered unable to administrator is guilty pay the judgment recovered before any justice of the peace, against the goods and estate of the deceased in his hands, out of the same, the justice may proceed against the proper goods and estate of such executor or administrator, in the same manner as the court of common pleas are empowered to do.

(3) By a late statute, justices may render judgment to the amount of twenty dollars in damages.

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