7. Name the chief executive officials of this State. In what sense are these officers representatives?

8. What are some of the qualifications of a good governor? a good comptroller? a good attorney-general? a good State superintendent of instruction?

9. Has the governor of this State the pardoning power? Is the pardoning power an executive or a judicial function?

10. In which of the three departments of the government of this State do the people take the most pride? In which do they take the least pride?

11. What officers of this State would be best fitted to serve as the President of the United States? What officer would be best fitted to serve in the President's cabinet?

12. Fill out the following scheme for the executive department of the State:

Topics for Special Work.-The Power of Pardon: 8, 83-92. The Governor's Part in Legislation: 8, 181-184. The State Governor: 30, 271-275. Public Service Commissions: 30, 275-281.

XXIV

THE STATE JUDICIARY

The Selection of the State Judiciary. Under England's rule each colony had its own judicial system. The judges -excepting those of Rhode Island and Connecticut-were appointed by the colonial governor. After independence was declared each State retained the system of courts to which it had been accustomed, but under the new constitutions eight States vested the election of judges in the legislature, while five gave the appointment of them to the governor. Early in the nineteenth century, Georgia, venturing upon a policy hitherto unknown in the history of politics, entrusted the election of its judges to the people. As democracy grew stronger the people began to demand the privilege of electing their judges as well as their other officers, and the example set by Georgia came to be generally followed, especially in the new States. At the present time in about three fourths of the States the judges are chosen by the voters. In the other States they are either appointed by the governor or chosen by the legislature.

The Several Grades of State Courts. The names of the several grades of State courts and the jurisdiction of each, the method of choosing the judges, their qualifications, their salaries, their term and tenure of office, and other important matters pertaining to the judiciary are usually prescribed in the State constitution.

Since the judicial department of a State is organized in accordance with the necessities and traditions of a par

ticular region, we must not expect to find the system of any two States precisely alike. The work of a State court, however, is everywhere the same: it administers justice in cases that come within the scope of State laws, and these are the laws which relate to most of the affairs of daily life (p. 56). In the administration of justice in the State it has been found convenient in all the States to have at least three grades of courts:

I. The Justice's Court. This court, the lowest in the series, is held by a justice of the peace and may be called the court of the neighborhood, for in every community it is near at hand to administer justice in small affairs. In it are tried petty misdemeanors and civil cases involving small sums of money. In the trial of trivial offenses and of civil cases involving but a small sum of money the decision of the court is usually final, but when its judgment inflicts a severe penalty or involves a considerable sum of money an appeal may be taken to a higher court. In cities, police courts, sometimes called municipal, sometimes magistrates', courts, are often established for petty criminal cases. Where the police court exists side by side with the justice's court the latter tries only civil

cases.

II. The Circuit or District Court. This is the tribunal next above the justice's court, and it may be called the court of the county, for it is held in every county at the county-seat. It must not be understood, however, that the jurisdiction of the judges of this court is limited to a single county. A circuit (or district) usually includes several counties, and the judges of a circuit go from county to county to hold court. In rural districts this court tries both civil and criminal cases, but in the larger cities there

1 This tribunal is called the circuit court in 19 States, the district court in 12 States, the superior court in 9 States, the court of common pleas and oyer and terminer in 2 States, the court of general sessions in one State, and the county court in one State. The student should be careful not to confuse the circuit or district court of the State with the circuit and district courts of the federal system.

is generally a criminal court of corresponding grade for the trial of the criminal cases."

1

These courts of the second grade are the centres of most of the judicial activity of the State. In them are tried the weightier cases of the law. They review the cases appealed from the justice's court and they have original jurisdiction in serious criminal cases and in important civil cases.

It is in these courts, too, that the jury figures most prominently as an agency of justice. Juries are of two kinds, grand and petit. The grand jury is a body of men varying from 12 to 23 in number, chosen by court officials to inquire whether there have been any violations of the law in the community and to determine whether or not these persons under suspicion should come up for trial. When making an inquiry into a criminal charge the grand jury sits in secret and hears only the evidence against the accused. Its function is not to try the accused, but to decide whether on the face of things there is sufficient evidence of guilt to warrant a trial. When a majority of the grand jury are satisfied that the case ought to be tried the indictment is endorsed with the words "a true bill," and the case goes to the petit jury to be tried. This body (in all the States but one) must consist of twelve men. It sits in open session, hears evidence on both sides of the case. During the progress of the trial questions of law are determined by the court; the jury determines only questions of fact. After the evidence has all been given and counsel on both sides of the case have been heard, the jury retires from the court-room and is locked into a small room where it remains until it finds a verdict, or until the judge decides that no verdict will be reached. All the twelve members must agree upon the verdict. When no agreement is reached a new trial may be ordered. As a general rule it may be said that the verdict of a jury is decisive.

Juries are chosen from the ordinary citizens in the neigh1A very large city often has an elaborate system of courts of its own.

borhood in which the trial is conducted-from farmers, mechanics, merchants-and this is the feature doubtless that makes trial by jury so popular. When a man is tried by men who are neither too far above him nor too far below him to have sympathy with him, he has a good chance for a fair trial. The jury system, like every other human institution, has its defects, but notwithstanding its shortcomings it is one of the greatest safeguards of civil liberty ever invented.

III. The Supreme Court. In this court resides the supreme judicial authority of the State. It sits at the State capital,2 where it holds sessions the greater part of the year. Its jurisdiction is for the most part appellate, although there are a few instances in which it has original jurisdiction. For example, a case involving the official action of a State officer is usually begun in the supreme court. Most of the cases, however, tried in the supreme court come up to it from the courts below. When a decision of this court conflicts in no way with the federal authority it is final, and is binding upon the people of the State as long as the State constitution remains unchanged, but when the decision conflicts with federal law or with the federal Constitution it may be reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Intermediate Courts of Appeal. In several States where the work of the courts is unusually heavy there has been inserted between the court of the second grade and the supreme court an intermediate court of appeals. This additional tribunal has been established to relieve the State supreme court of some of its burden, just as the federal

1In four States (Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey and New York) this court is called the Court of Appeals. In Texas there are two supreme courts, one for civil and one for criminal cases.

2 In a few States the supreme court, for the convenience of the public, holds sessions at several different places in the State.

'Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana and Missouri have courts of this kind. In New York there is below the court of appeals, the highest court of the State, a supreme court, one division of which is an inter