TITLE I. Requisites of Witnesses sworn, &c. $278. The warrant of commitment for any contempt, shall set forth the particular circumstances of the offence, or it shall be void. commitment. $279. When a witness attending before any justice, in any cause, refusing to be shall refuse to be sworn, in any form prescribed by law, or to answer any pertinent and proper question, and the party at whose instance he attended, shall make oath that the testimony of such witness is so far material, that without it he cannot safely proceed in the trial of such cause, such justice may by warrant commit such witness to the jail of the county. Warrant; imprisonment. Proceedings theroon. $280. Such warrant shall specify the cause for which the same is issued, and if it be for refusing to answer any question, such question shall be specified therein; and such witness shall be closely confined pursuant to such warrant, until he submit to be sworn or to answer, as the case may be. $281. The justice shall thereupon adjourn such cause at the request of the party in whose favor such witness attended, from time to time, until such witness shall testify in the cause, or be dead or insane. CHAP. III. General Provisions concerning Courts of Justice, and the Powers and Duties of certain Judicial Officers. TITLE 1.-General provisions concerning the courts of justice specified in the two preceding Chapters. TITLE 2.-General provisions concerning courts of record, and the powers and duties of certain judicial officers. Courts to sit publicly. TITLE I. GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE COURTS OF JUSTICE SPE- SEC. 1. Sittings of courts to be public. 2. Cases in which a judge cannot sit or act. 8. Judges of appellate courts, not to decide in certain cases. 4. Judges not to practise in their own courts. 5. Not to have a partner practising in their courts, &c. 6. Judicial officers not to receive fees in certain cases. 7. Courts not to be open on Sunday; to be adjourned over that day. 8. Process to be in the name of the people. 9. Legal proceedings to be in English; abbreviations; figures. 10. Stamping of process sufficient sealing. 11. Parties may appear, &c. in person or by attorney. SECTION 1. The sittings of every court within this state, shall be public, and every citizen may freely attend the same. certain cases. $ 2. No judge of any court can sit as such, in any cause to which TITLE 1. he is a party, or in which he is interested, or in which he would be Judges not to excluded from being a juror by reason of consanguinity or affinity to sit or act in either of the parties; nor can any judge decide, or take part in the decision of, any question which shall have been argued in the court, when he was not present and sitting therein as a judge. late courts. $ 3. No judge of any appellate court, or of any court to which a fb. in appelwrit of certiorari or of error shall be returnable, shall decide, or take part in the decision of, any cause or matter which shall have been determined by him, when sitting as a judge of any other court. tise. S4. No judge can practise or act as a counsellor, solicitor or at- Not to praetorney, in the court of which he is a judge, except in those suits in which he shall be a party, or in the subject matter of which he shall be interested. partners prac $ 5. No judge shall have any partner practising in the court of Not to have which he is a judge; nor shall any judge be directly or indirectly in- tising, &c. terested in the costs of any suit, that shall be brought in the court of which he is a judge, except those suits in which he shall be a party, or be interested, as above provided. cors not to &c. $6. No judge, commissioner, or other judicial officer, shall demand Judicial offor receive any fees or other compensation, for giving his advice in any receive fees, matter or thing pending before such judge or officer, or of which he can take cognizance; or for drafting or preparing any papers or other proceedings, relating to any such matter or thing, except in those cases where fees are expressly given by law to such judge or officer, for services performed by him. open on Sun $7. No court shall be opened, or transact any business, on Sun- Courts not to day, unless it be for the purpose of receiving a verdict or discharging a day, &c. jury; and every adjournment of a court on Saturday to another day, shall always be to some other day than Sunday, except such adjournment as may be made after a cause has been committed to a jury. But this section shall not prevent the exercise of the jurisdiction of any single magistrate, when it shall be necessary in criminal cases, to preserve the peace, or to arrest offenders. $8. All writs and process shall be in the name of the people of Process. this state, except where otherwise provided by law. to be in Eng $9. All writs, process, proceedings and records in any court with- Proceedings in this state, shall be in the English language, (except that the prop-h er and known names of process, and technical words, may be expressed in the language heretofore and now commonly used) and shall be made out on paper or parchment, in a fair, legible character, in words at length, and not abbreviated; but such abbreviations as are Abbrevianow commonly used in the English language, may be used, and num- Figures. tions. TITLE 2. bers may be expressed by Arabic figures, or Roman numerals, in the customary manner.1 Stamping process. How parties may appear. $10. The impression of the seal of any court by stamp, shall be a sufficient sealing, in all cases where sealing is required.2 S 11. Every person of full age and sound mind, may appear by attorney or solicitor, as the case may require, in every action or plea by or against him, in any court; or may, at his election, prosecute or defend such action or plea, in person. But this provision shall not extend to proceedings in criminal cases; nor shall any person be permitted to appear on the record in any civil cause in person, whilst he has an attorney or solicitor in such cause.3 Courts of re TITLE II. GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING COURTS OF RECORD, AND THE ART. 1.-Provisions Concerning courts of record, their process and proceedings. ART. 3. Of the officers of courts of record, their duties, privileges, and liabilities. ARTICLE FIRST. Provisions concerning Courts of Record, their Process and SEC. 1. Certain courts declared to be of record: certain powers. 2. Proceedings not to be discontinued by vacancies. 3. Process, &c. not to be discontinued by failure to hold courts, &c. 4. How process to be tested when term has not been held. 5. Proceedings not to be vitiated by omission to adjourn. 8. Process issued before adjournment not to be affected thereby. 7. New seals when to be procured; expense thereof. 8. Original writs how to be issued and tested, &c. 9. Process to be subscribed by attorney, &c. issuing it. 10. Powers of courts of record to punish for criminal contempts. 11. Extent of punishment for contempts. 12. In certain cases it may be summary; in others after notice, &c. 13. Commitment to state circumstances of offence. 14. Qualification of preceding sections. 15. Parties punished, still liable to indictment. $1. The several courts treated of in the first Chapter of this act, cord; powers. are courts of record; and in addition to the powers which are or may be conferred on them respectively, they shall have power, 1. To issue process of subpoena, requiring the attendance of any witness residing or being in any part of this state, to testify in any matter or cause pending in such court: 2. To administer oaths to witnesses in any such matter or cause, and in all other cases, where it may be necessary in the exercise of powers and duties of such courts: the (1) 1 R. L. p. 118, § 4. (2) Laws of 1815, p. 38, § 2. (3) 1 R. L. p. 416, § 1. CHAP. III.] THE STATE OF NEW-YORK. 277 3. To devise and make such new writs and forms of proceedings, ART. 1. as may be necessary, to carry into effect the powers and jurisdiction possessed by them. ance of pro $2. No process, proceeding, or suit, civil or criminal, before any Discontinuof the said courts, shall be discontinued by the occurrence of any va- ceedings. cancy in the office of any judge, or of all the judges of such court, nor by the issuing of any new commission to any judge or judges of any such court, but the persons appointed in such new commission, shall have power to continue, hear and determine such process, proceeding or suit, as their predecessors might have done, if no new commission had been issued.5 cess, &c. $3. No process issued, or proceeding pending, in any court of re- Ib. of procord, shall be discontinued by reason of such court not having been held at any stated term thereof; but such process shall be deemed to be returnable at the term which shall be held next after such failure, and the proceedings shall be continued at such next term, in the same manner as they might have been at the term which failed, upon the like notice, as would have been required for such term. pro cess in cer $4. In all cases where a stated term of any such court shall not Teste of have been held, process issued therefrom, may be tested on the first tain cases. day of the term when such court should have been held. adjourn. $5. No omission to adjourn any court from day to day, previous Omission to to the final adjournment thereof without day, shall vitiate any proceedings in such court. not to affect $6. The adjournment of any court before the expiration of its Adjournment term, shall not affect the teste, return or service of any writs issued process. prior or subsequent to such adjournment." $7. Whenever the seal of any court shall be so injured, that it New seals. can not be conveniently used, the court shall cause the same to be destroyed; and whenever the seal of any court shall be lost or destroyed, such court shall cause a new seal to be made, similar, in all respects, to the former seal, which shall become the seal of the court. The expense of a new seal, for any court of oyer and terminer, or common pleas, shall be paid by the county in which such courts are held. The expense of new seals for other courts, shall be paid from the state treasury. writs. $8. Original writs, whenever the same shall be necessary, shall Original issue out of and under the seal of the court in which they shall be returnable, and shall be tested in the same manner as other writs issued out of such court; but in other respects the forms now in use shall be observed." (4) 2 R. L. p. 147, § 10. (5) 1 R. L. p. 341, § 19; 2 Ib. p. 151, § 6; Laws of 1823, p. 212, § 9. (6) 2 R. L. p. 147, § 9; Ib. p 505, § 16. (7) Laws of 1815, p. 38, § 1. TITLE 2. $9. All writs and process issued out of any court of record, shall, before the delivery of the same to any officer to be executed, be subsubscribed. scribed or endorsed with the name of the attorney, solicitor or other person, by whom the same shall have been issued.8 Process to be Criminal contempts $10. Every court of record shall have power to punish as for a enumerated. criminal contempt, persons guilty of either of the following acts, and no others: Extent of punishment. When to be summary. Requisites of commitment. Previous sec 1. Disorderly, contemptuous, or insolent behaviour, committed during its sitting, in immediate view and presence, and directly tending to interrupt its proceedings, or to impair the respect due to its authority: 2. Any breach of the peace, noise or other disturbance, directly tending to interrupt its proceedings: 3. Wilful disobedience of any process or order, lawfully issued or made by it: 4. Resistance wilfully offered by any person to the lawful order or process of the court : 5. The contumacious and unlawful refusal of any person to be sworn as a witness: and when so sworn, the like refusal to answer any legal and proper interrogatory : 6. The publication of a false, or grossly inaccurate report of its proceedings; but no court can punish as a contempt, the publication of true, full and fair reports of any trial, argument, proceedings, or decision had in such court. $ 11. Punishment for contempts may be by fine, or by imprisonment in the jail of the county where the court may be sitting, or both, in the discretion of the court, but the fine shall in no case exceed the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, nor the imprisonment thirty days; and where any person shall be committed to prison, for the non-payment of any such fine, he shall be discharged at the expiration of thirty days. S 12. Contempts committed in the immediate view and presence of the court, may be punished summarily; in other cases, the party charged shall be notified of the accusation, and have a reasonable time to make his defence. $ 13. Whenever any person shall be committed for any contempt, specified in this Article, the particular circumstances of his offence, shall be set forth in the order or warrant of commitment. S 14. Nothing contained in the preceding sections, shall be contion qualified. strued to extend to any proceeding against parties or officers, as for a contempt, for the purpose of enforcing any civil right or remedy. Indictment not barred. $ 15. Persons punished for contempt under the preceding provisions, shall notwithstanding be liable to indictment for such contempt, (8) 1 R. L. p. 417, § 8. |
