assemblies, misprisions, confederacies, false allegations, trespasses, riots, routs, retentions, escapes, contempts, falsities, negligences, concealments, maintenances, oppressions, champerties, deceits, and all other evil doings, offences, and injuries whatsoever; and also the accessaries of them within the county aforesaid, as well within liberties as without, by whomsoever and in what manner soever done, committed, or perpetrated; and by whom or to whom, when, how, and after what manner, and of all other articles and circumstances concerning the premises and every of them, or any of them, in any manner whatsoever; and the said treasons, and other the premises, according to the laws and customs of England, for this time to hear and determine by the oath of twelve jurors (here insert names), good and lawful men, of the county aforesaid, now here sworn and charged to inquire for our said lady the Queen for the body of the said county.

It is presented in manner and form as followeth, that is to say, Yorkshire to wit.—The jurors, &c. (here set forth the indictment).

CHAPTER XI.

OF THE REMOVAL OF INDICTMENTS BY

CERTIORARI.

THE Writ of Certiorari is a writ issuing out of Chancery or the Queen's Bench, directed in the Queen's name to the judges or officers of inferior courts, commanding them to return the records of

a cause pending before them, in order that the party may have more time and speedy justice before her, or such of her justices as she shall assign, to determine its merits.

The Court of Queen's Bench having a general superintendency over all courts of inferior jurisdiction, may award a certiorari to remove the proceedings from any of them, except some particular statute or charter invests them with absolute judicature. The writ is returned into the Court of Queen's Bench in order that the issue may be tried at Bar or Nisi Prius. It lies to remove all judicial proceedings, except where otherwise directed by the express provisions of some particular statute. The proper time for either party to apply for a certiorari is before issue has been joined on the indictment. In order to remove the indictment, the defendant must make an affidavit stating the grounds upon which the application is founded. The affidavit should be intituled in the Queen's Bench, and not in the name of the prosecution in the court below. If the application be made in term time, it must be made through counsel, for a rule to show cause why a writ of certiorari should not issue. In vacation, the affidavit is merely laid by a solicitor before a judge at chambers, who, if he thinks fit, grants his fiat for the certiorari. These forms are not essential where the prosecutor wishes to remove the indictment. The writ must be directed to the judge or magistrates of the inferior court. Immediately it is allowed and served, it operates as a

supersedeas. The return to the writ of certiorari is to be made to the party to whom it is directed. The proper mode of making the return seems to be to endorse on the back of the writ, "The executor of this writ appears in a certain schedule hereunto annexed;" then to send the schedule on a distinct piece of parchment. The schedule must be upon parchment.

CHAPTER XII.

THE ARRAIGNMENT OF THE PRISONER, &c. THE bill having been presented, and the indictment found, the next step is to arraign the prisoner. In all cases of felony it is necessary that the prisoner should personally attend, and that fact must appear on the record. The arraignment consists of three things:

1. Calling the prisoner to the bar by his name. 2. Reading the indictment to him so that he may understand the charge.

3. Demanding of him whether he is or is not guilty, and asking him how he will be tried.

The first ceremony is intended as an identificacation of the prisoner. The intention of reading the indictment is that the prisoner may fully understand the charge. He is entitled to have it so slowly read over to him that he may take it down in writing, so that if he wished to plead autrefois acquit, the indictment may be taken down, so as to be correctly stated in the plea. Upon

this, the clerk says, "How say you; are you guilty or not guilty?" If the prisoner confesses the charge, such confession is recorded, and nothing is done till judgment; if he denies it, he answers, "Not guilty," upon which the clerk of arraigns, on the part of the crown replies that the prisoner is guilty, and that he is ready to prove the accusation; and this is done in an abbreviated form, by entering on the indictment two monosyllables, "cul prit:" cul, which means culpabilis, or guilty, and prit, which is put for presto sum verificari, and imports that he is ready to prove his words.

CHAPTER XIII.

PLEADINGS UPON INDICTMENTS.

WE come now to consider the various modes by which a prisoner places upon the record his objection or answer to the charge alleged against him. They are :—

1. Pleas to the Jurisdiction.

2. Demurrers.

3. Dilatory Pleas.

4. Pleas in bar of the Indictment.

Mixed of Record and Fact.

1. Autrefois acquit.

2. Autrefois attaint.

3. Autrefois convict.

4. Matter of record, pardon, &c.

Pleas to the Matter of the Indictment.

1. Not guilty.

2. Special Pleas.

In considering the nature of the several pleas, we come to examine those which the prisoner may offer to the jurisdiction of the court. They may be successfully relied on when the court has no cognizance of the crime alleged on the record, as where a party was accused of rape at the sheriff's court. This plea must always be pleaded before the general issue, because by pleading Not Guilty, the defendant admits the power of the court to try him. To this plea of jurisdiction the crown may demur or reply instanter; and if the court determine against the plea, the defendant will have judgment to answer over to the felony.

The next mode by which the defendant may object to the indictment is by demurrer, and which means that the party will go no further, because the indictment is defective in substance or in formal statement. All formal defects of an indictment are to be jury are sworn.

taken by demurrer before the

Pleas in abatement are founded either on some defect apparent on the face of the indictment, without reference to any extrinsic fact, or are founded upon some matter of fact extrinsic of the record, which renders the indictment insufficient. If a plea in abatement be found against the defendant in a case of felony, he shall have judgment of respondeat ouster.

Special pleas in bar show that the defendant ought not to be called upon to answer the indictment. The principal of these are a previous acquittal, conviction, and pardon.