The Judicial Power.
5. The Supreme Court is composed of threejudges, elected by joint ballot in the two houses of assem bly, to hold their office during good behavior. Of these, one is seleoted by his associates to preside, and is styled the ohiefjustice. It is almost entirely an appellate tribunal, having original jurisdiction ruly in prooeedings by a bill in equity, or an in formation in the nature of a bill in equity, filed OD behtelf of the state, in the name of the attorney general, to repeal graute and other letters patent obtained by fraud or false suggestions. It has ap. pellate jurisdiction over all cases in law or equity brought before it by appeal or otherwise from a su perior court of law or a oourt of equity. It has also power to issue writs of certiorari, sake facies, ha beas corpus, and other writs which niay be neces sary for the exercise nf its jurisdiction, and agree able to the principles and usoges of law. Criminal cases are to be certified to the superior court from which the appeal was taken, whioh court proceeds to judgment in accordance with the decision of the supreme court.
6. A Superior Court is held by one judge, at the court-houee in each county of the state, twice in each year. For this purpose the state is divided into seven circuits, each composed of ten or more counties; and the seven judges who are appointed to hold these courts ride the circuits alternately, with the power to interchange ; hut no judge rides the same circuit twice in succession. The judges are appointed in the same manner and fur the same tertn as the supreme indges. The superior courts "have oognizance and legal jurisdiction, unless otherwise provided, of all pleas, real, personal, and mixed, and also all suits and demands relative to dower, partition, legacies, filial portions, and estates of intestates; and, uoless it be otherwise provided, of all pleas of the state, and criminal matters of what nature, degree, or denomination soever, whe ther brought before them by original or by meene process, or by certiorari, writ of error, appeal from any inferior court, or by any other way or manner whatsoever ; ond they are hereby declared to have full power and authority to give judgment and to award execution and all necessary procees thereon," etc. See Revieed Code, c. 31, 17.
The same judges who hold the superior courts of law arc required and authorized to hold, at the same times and places, courts of equity, and in doing so shall "possess all the powers and authorities within the same that the court of chancery, which was formerly held in thie state under the colonial gov ernment, used and exercised, and that are properly and rightfully incident to emit a court, agreeable to the laws and usages now in force and practice." See Revised Code, o. 32, ?? 1-3.
7. The Courts of Pleas and Quarter Sessions era held four times in each year, in the several counties of the state, by three or more justices of the peace, who "shall take cognizance of. and have full power
and authority aod original jurisdiction to hear, try, and determine, all causes of a civil nature whatever at the common law within their respective counties, where the original jurisdiction is not by statute 000fined to one or more magistrates out of oourt, or to the supreme or superior courts; of all penalties to the amount of one hundred dollare and upwards incurred by violation of the penal statutes of the state or of laws paseed by the congress of the United States, where by such law jurisdiction is gisen to the oourts of the several states; of suits for dower, partition, filial portions, legacies, and dis tributive shares of intestates' estates, and all other matters relating thereto; to try, hear, end deter mine all matters relating to orphans, idiots, and ln naties, and the management of their estates, in like mariner as courts of equity exercise jurisdiction in such cases; to inuire of, try, hear, and deter mine all petit laroernes, assanits and batteries, all trespasses and breaches of the peaoe, and all other orimes and misdemeanors the judgment upoo can viotion whereof shall not extend to life, limb, or member : excepting those only whereof the original jurisdiction is given exclusively to a single justice or to two justices of the peace, to the superior or tc the supreme oourt." • ln some of the counties jury trials are abolished by special acts of the legislature, and in others such trials are had twice only in the year.
8. Justices qf the Peace are recommended to the govertrw by the general assembly, who hold office during good behavior. They have jurisdiotion, singly, of all debts and demands due on bonds, notes, or liquidated accounts, stated in writing and signed by the party owing the same, and all bill &noes due on such debts and demands where the principal of such debt or demand, or balance due thereon, does not exceed one hundred dollars, though the principal and interest thereof may ex ceed that sum; and all judgments rendered on such debts and demands where the principal of the judg ment may not exceed one hundred dollars, though the prinoipal, interest, and oast may exceed that sum ; and all debts and demands of sixty dollars and under due on any parol agreement, or for goods, wares, and merchandise sold and delivered, or for work or labor done, or for specific articles, and all balances of sixty dollars and under due on such last-mcntioned debts or demands, and all judgments rendered thereon where the principal of the judgment may not exceed sixty dollars, though the principal, interest, and cost may exceed that sum, and all forfeitures or penalties not exceeding one hundred dollars," etc. See Revised Code, c. 31, 6.