Chapter XVII.

Judicial Department. Justices' Courts.

Sec.1. Having seen how the legislative and executive departments of a state
government are constituted, and how the laws are made and executed, the
manner in which the local affairs of counties and towns are conducted,
and the powers and duties of their respective officers; we proceed to
describe the _judicial_ department, the powers and duties of judicial
officers, and the manner in which justice is administered.

Sec.2. It is the business of the legislature to determine what acts shall
be deemed public offenses, or crimes, and to make laws for securing
justice to the citizens in their dealings and general intercourse with
each other; but to judge of and apply the laws; that is, to determine
what the law is and whether it has been broken, and to fix the just
measure of damage or of punishment, and to order such decision to be
carried into effect, are duties which, as has been observed, have been
wisely assigned to a separate and distinct department. (Chap. VIII. Sec.7.)

Sec.3. A government without some power to decide disputes, to award
justice, and to punish crime according to the laws of the state, would
not be complete. To allow every man to be his own judge in cases of
supposed injury, and to redress his own wrongs, would endanger the
rights of others. Justice is best secured to the citizens by
establishing courts for the redress of injuries and the punishment of
crimes; and that no person may suffer unjustly, it is provided that
every person charged with crime or any other wrong, is entitled to a
fair and impartial trial.

Sec.4. For the convenience of persons who may be compelled to seek relief
at law, courts are established in every town. These are courts of the
lowest grade, and are called _justices' courts_, being held by justices
of the peace who are, in most of the states, elected by the people of
the several towns. They are called the lowest courts, because they have
jurisdiction only in cases in which the smallest sums or damages are
claimed, or in which only the lowest offenses are tried. The word
_jurisdiction_ is from the Latin _jus_, law, or _juris_, of the law, and
_dictio_, a pronouncing or speaking. Hence the _jurisdiction_ of a court
means its power to pronounce the law.

Sec.5. Although justices of the peace are generally elected in the towns,
their jurisdiction extends over the county; that is, they have power to
try caus