Where the interest of the complainant has been trans ferred, the deed o be made to transferee. Judgments for money, &c. to be revived by scire facias. orders of the circuit court made concerning the same, no writ of error or appeal shall lie to the court of appeals. SEC. 3. If the complainant or complainants in any such suit in chancery, shall have transferred or conveyed his interest in the land to any other person, it shall be lawful for the assignee or transferee to produce his assignment or conveyance in writing, to any circuit court, together with a copy of the record, as directed by the second section of this act; and thereupon said court shall direct a conveyance to be made to said assignee or transferee, in the same manner as directed by this act, to the complainant or complainants; and the conveyance so made shall have the same force and effect, and be subject to the same rules and regulations, as in the case of a complainant or complainants. SEC. 4. If any such final decree or judgment at law, now existing among the records of said late supreme court, shall be for money, or other specific article, and not for lands, the complainants or plaintiffs may file a complete copy of the record, in the circuit court of that county where the defendant or defendants, or one or more of them, may reside, and may issue a scire facias thereon, as in the case of other dormant judgments or decrees, existing in said circuit court; and like proceedings shall be had thereon as in other cases of scire facias to revive; and the defendant or defendants may appear and plead any legal plea or matter which may have arisen since the original judgment or decree, as in other cases. [For the mode of procuring complete copies of records from the books of the late Supreme Court, see title CLERKS, ante. p. 397.] TITLE 58. CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS. 1796. IN FORCE FROM ITS PASSAGE. AN ACT to reduce into one the several acts, concerning the examination and trial of Criminals, grand and petit juries, venires, and for other purposes: Approved December 17, 1796.-1 Litt. 466. SEC. 12. After any person shall be indicted for treason or felony, if he be not already in custody, the sheriff shall be commanded to attach his body by writ or by precept, which is called a capias; and if he return that the body is not found, another writ or precept of capias, shall immediately be made returnable forthwith, in which the sheriff shall also be commanded to seize his chattels, and safely to keep them, and if he return that the body is not found, and the indictee cometh not, an exigent shall be awarded. Capias to issue against anyperson indicted for treason or felo- custody. Exigent. When indict ment is found against anyperson for treason or felony, trial to be had the SEC. 13. When the grand jury shall have presented to a superior court of criminal jurisdiction, a bill of indictment against any person charged with treason or felony, the court shall cause the offender to be arraigned and tried the same term, if he be in the custody of the jailer; or if he be bailed and forthcoming agreeable to same term. his recognizance, unless they see good cause to adjourn the trial to the next term, and shall allow him counsel to assist him at his trial if he desire it. SEC. 14. When any prisoner committed for treason or felony shall apply to the court the first day of the term, by petition or motion, and shall desire to be brought to his trial before the end of the term, and shall not be indicted in that term, unless it appear by affidavit that the witnesses against him cannot be produced in time, the court shall set him at liberty upon his giving bail in such penalty as they shall think reasonable, to appear before them at a day to be appointed of the succeeding term. Allowed benefit of counsel. If a prisoner apply the first day of the term for a trial, and is not indicted during the term, may give he bail. If not indicted at the second term to be dis SEC. 15. Every person charged with such crime who shall not be indicted before or at the second term after he shall have been committed, unless the attendance of the witnesses against him appeared charged. to have been prevented by himself, shall be discharged from his imprisonment if he be detained for that cause only and if he be not If not tried at third term, tried at or before the third term after his examination before the to be discharged justices, he shall forever be discharged from the crime. from the crime. have copy of panel of jury. What a lawful jury for the trial of criminal SEC. 16. In all trials for such offences the prisoner shall have a Prisoner to copy of the indictment and of the panel of the jurors who are to indictment and try him, whensoever he shall request it before trial or sentence. SEC. 17. The venire so summoned as aforesaid, or such of them as appear and be not challenged, together with so many other good and lawful men of the by-standers, being house-keepers within this Commonwealth, as will make the number twelve, or if the whole array be challenged, twelve of such by-standers shall be a lawful jury for the trial of a prisoner. SEC. 18. Whensoever an inquest is about to be taken in any No challenge court, in which inquest the Commonwealth is a party, if he who on the part of appears and sues in behalf of the Commonwealth will challenge the commonwealth without any of the jurors, he shall assign a cause certain for his challenge, cause assigned. and the truth of such callenge shall be judged by the court, and if such challenge be sufficient the juror shall be rejected, or if insuf ficient, he shall be admitted, and in either case the inquest shall be proceeded in. SEC. 19. No person arraigned for treason shall be admitted to a What number peremptory challenge above the number of twenty-four; nor shall challenge per- any person arraigned for murder or felony be admitted to a peremptory challenge above the number of twenty. (a) a prisoner may emptorily. Clerk to issue subpoenas for SEC. 20. If a prisoner shall desire any witnesses to be summoned for him or her, to appear on the trial in the said superior court, witnesses in be- the clerk of the said court shall issue subpœnas for such witnesses, who being summoned and attending, shall have the like allowance for travelling and attendance, and be subject to the same penalty for failing to attend, as is provided for witnesses in civil cases. half of prisoners Their allow ances. Prisoner stand ing mute shall be convicted. SEC. 21. Whensoever in treason or felony any person shall stand mute on his arraignment, or persist after being admonished by the court in not answering to his indictment, or in peremptory challenging above the number of jurors which by law he may be allowed to challenge peremptorily, or shall be outlawed, he shall be considered as convicted, and the same judgment, execution and disabilities shall take place and be awarded, as if he had been convicted by verdict or confession of the crime. [SEC. 22. Relates to the duty of clerks in ter the claims of venire men, and witnesses. ante.] (a) By the common law, the prisoner had a right in all prosecutions for felony, to challenge thirty-five jurors peremptorily. This statute reduces the number in treason to twenty-four, and in felony to twenty. This right of challenging keeping books to enSee it, title CLERKS, twenty does not exist in penal cases, but is allowed in all other criminal cases, and the right to prosecute writs of error is confined to penal cases, and does not extend to criminal.-Montee v. Commonwealth, 3 J. J. Mar. 138. SEC. 24. The grand juries in making any presentment, shall specify the crime presented, and the time and place when it was committed, and by whom, and shall set down at the foot of the presentment the name of the person or persons on whose information the presentment shall be made, and where they severally reside, (b) whether they be of the grand jury or not; and such grand juries having presented all such matters as come to their knowledge, shall be discharged. SEC. 25. Every grand jury in an inferior court of criminal jurisdiction shall and may present all offences made penal by the laws of this Commonwealth, although the recovery of the fines for such of fences shall be otherwise directed by the laws imposing the same, and although the forfeiture or penalty thereby imposed, shall not amount to five pounds. (c) Rules by which the grand jury is to be governed in making presentments. Jury may make presentment for a crime other wise punishable No information to be filed on certain pre Summons to issue against person charged and witnesses. If he do not appear, judgtered for the pe ment to be en SEC. 26. In a presentment to an inferior court of criminal jurisdiction, if the penalty imposed on the offence exceed not the sum of five pounds, or to a superior court if the penalty exceed not the sum sentments. of ten pounds, no information thereupon shall be filed, but a summons shall be issued against the defendant, with the presentment stated therein, by way of charge, to answer such presentment; and such summons having been served upon him, or a copy having been left at his usual place of abode, and the persons whose names shall be set at the foot of any presentment, having been also summoned to attend at the same time as witnesses; if he do not appear, judgment shall be ordered against him for the penalty; and if he do appear, the said court shall have power and authority to hear and determine the same, where the penalty is less than five pounds, in a summary way, without a jury; but in all cases where the penalty imposed shall exceed five pounds, or shall be uncertain, the trial shall be by a jury, who shall find the amount of the penalty or forfeiture incurred, and for which the court shall enter judgment and award execution according to law. [SEC. 30, Relates to claims for expenses accruing from the examination and trial of criminals, &c. and will be found under the title CLAIMS ON THE TREASURY, page 359, ante.] nalty. If he appear, and the penalty is over £5, or uncertain, trial to be by jury. Execution of SEC. 31. Execution of a sentence of death shall not be done in less than twenty days after judgment shall have been given against sentence, when the prisoner. to be done. violation of its provisions, "to be recovered in Where stroke SEC. 32. Where any person shall be feloniously stricken or poiis given in one soned in one county, and shall die of the same stroke or poison in county, and the another county, the offender shall be examined according to law by partydies in another, in which the court of the county where such stroke was given or poison adoffender to be ministered, and he shall be tried in the court within the limits of whose jurisdiction such county lies. tried. How and where to How offender may be remov another county for trial. SEC. 33. In like manner an accessory to murder, or felony committed, shall be examined by the court of that county, and tried by the court in whose jurisdiction he became accessory, and shall answer upon his arraignment and receive such judgment, order, execution, pains and penalties, as is used in other cases of murder or felony. SEC. 34. If treason or felony be committed in a county different from that in which the culprit shall be arrested, any justice of that ed from one, to county in which he or she is arrested, may, by his 'warrant, cause the offender to be put into the custody of the sheriff, to be by him conveyed to the county where the offence was committed, (and every sheriff while he shall officiate in execution of this act, may impress so many men, horses and boats as may be necessary for the safeguard and conveyance of the prisoner into such other county) and there brought before some justice thereof, who shall proceed in like manner as if the offender had been brought before him on the first instance. And the sheriff for removing a criminal from one county for such to another, shall be allowed the same fee per mile for such service, removal, and as is allowed to sheriffs for removing criminals from the county to how fixed. the jail of the superior court, to be paid in like manner as other expenses for criminal prosecutions. Sheriff's allowance In indictments in which the exigent is awarded, additions SEC. 35. In indictments in which the exigent shall be awarded in the name of the defendant, in such indictments additions shall be made of their estate, or degree, or mystery, and of the county of which they were or be, or in which they be or were conversant; shall be made of and if upon the process upon the said indictments in which the said additions be omitted, any outlawries be pronounced, they shall be and of county void, frustrate, and holden for none; and before outlawries be pronounced, the said indictments shall be abated by exception of the party wherein the said addition be omitted. the estate, de gree or mystery, of defendants. The words 'force and arms' are not of ne SEC. 36. In any inquisition or indictment, the words "force and arms," or any particular words descriptive of any particular kind of cessity in in force and arms, shall not of necessity be put or comprised. dictments, &c. ed for omission SEC. 37. No indictment for high-treason, misprison of treason, Indictments murder, or other felony or offence whatsoever, shall be quashed for not to be quash- the omission of the name of any parish, town, ville or hamlet, within any county within this Commonwealth; nor shall such omission, after conviction on such indictment, be any cause to stay or arrest judgment; nor shall any judgment on such indictment be liable to be reversed on a writ of error by reason of such omission. of parish, town, ville or hamlet. |