11 & 12 VICT. c. 42. said ADDITIONAL FORMS. Special Commitment for Felony. of the justices of our lady the Queen assigned to keep the peace within the To the constable or tithingman of to wit.} in the said and to the keeper of the in the said THESE are to command you the said constable or tithingman, in Her said Majesty's 's name, forthwith to convey and to deliver into the custody of the said keeper of the said gaol or bridewell, the bod said that of on the oath of late of of in the this day charged before and others, for And you the said keeper are hereby required to receive the said there safely and surely keep your custody in the said gaol or bridewell, and into Hereof fail not. (a) State the particulars of the charge, and the description and value of the stolen article. (b) "Moneys." (c) Add instructions for any additional counts in the indictment. I, the undersigned, being one of Her Majesty's justices of the peace of and for the said county of do hereby certify that I have examined the account of expenses, and that the same appears to me to be just and reasonable. Given under my hand, the day of 18. Committing Magistrate. * To include a copy when required, and a form of minute of allowance. 11 & 12 VICT. BY the 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, intituled "An Act to facilitate the Performance c. 43. of the Duties of Justices of the Peace out of Sessions within England and Wales, with respect to Summary Convictions and Orders," after reciting that it would conduce much to the improvement of the administration of justice within England and Wales, so far as respects summary convictions and orders to be made by Her Majesty's justices of the peace therein, if the several statutes and parts of statutes relating to the duties of such justices in respect of such summary convictions and orders, were C. 43. information shall offences com mons to persons consolidated with such additions and alterations as may be deemed 11 & 12 VICT. necessary, and that such duties should be clearly defined by such positive enactment, it is enacted, "that in all cases where an information shall be laid before one or more of Her Majesty's justices of the peace for In all cases where any county, riding, division, liberty, city, borough, or place within England be laid or comor Wales, that any person has committed or is suspected to have committed plaint made of any offence or act within the jurisdiction of such justice or justices for mitted, justices which he is liable by law, upon a summary conviction for the same before may issue suma justice or justices of the peace, to be imprisoned or fined, or otherwise to answer the punished, and also in all cases where a complaint shall be made to any same. such justice or justices upon which he or they have or shall have authority by law to make any order for the payment of money or otherwise, then and in every such case it shall be lawful for such justice or justices of the peace to issue his or their summons (A.) directed to such person, stating shortly the matter of such information or complaint, and requiring him to appear at a certain time and place before the same justice or justices, or before such other justice or justices of the same county, riding, division, liberty, city, borough, or place as shall then be there, to answer to the How summons said information or complaint, and to be further dealt with according to to be served. law; and every such summons shall be served by a constable or other peace officer, or other person to whom the same shall be delivered, upon the person to whom it is so directed, by delivering the same to the party personally, or by leaving the same with some person for him at his last or most usual place of abode; and the constable, peace officer, or person who shall serve the same in manner aforesaid shall attend at the time and place Justices not and before the justices in the said summons mentioned, to depose, if obliged to issue necessary, to the service of the said summons: provided always, that nothing herein mentioned shall oblige any justice or justices of the peace No objection to issue any such summons in any case where the application for any order allowed for want of justices is by law to be made ex parte: provided also, that no objection of form. shall be taken or allowed to any information, complaint, or summons, for any alleged defect therein in substance or in form, or for any variance between such information, complaint, or summons and the evidence adduced on the part of the informant or complainant at the hearing of such information or complaint as hereinafter mentioned; but if any such variance shall appear to the justice or justices present and acting at such hearing to be such that the party so summoned and appearing has been thereby deceived or misled, it shall be lawful for such justice or justices, upon such terms as he or they shall think fit, to adjourn the hearing of the case to If summons be some future day." (a) Sect. 2. "And be it enacted, that if the person so served with a summons as aforesaid shall not be and appear before the justice or justices at the time and place mentioned in such summons, and it shall be made to appear to such justice or justices, by oath or affirmation, that such summons was so served what shall be deemed by such justice or justices to be a reasonable time before the time therein appointed for appearing to the same, then it (a) This section gives a justice power in all cases where an information is laid that any person has committed, or is suspected to have committed any offence or act for which he is liable, upon a summary conviction, to be imprisoned or fined, or otherwise punished, and also in all cases in which justices have power to make any order for the payment of money or otherwise, to issue a summons requiring the party to appear, &c., and directs in what manner the summons may be served, namely," by delivering the same to the party personally, or by leaving the same with some person for him at his last or most usual place of abode." This is an alteration of the law as it formerly stood, which required personal service in all cases unless specially dispensed with by the act itself: (R. v. Hall, 6 D. & R. 84.) Every reasonable effort, however, should still be made to effect personal service: inasmuch as, upon the nonappearance of the defendant, the magistrate may issue his warrant of apprehension, or proceed ex parte. If the summons is not personally served, it is to be served by leaving it with some person for the defendant at his last or most usual place of abode; merely putting it inside the door, or otherwise conveying it into the house, will not be sufficient, it must actually be left with some person, and it will be proper on the occasion to explain to the party receiving it its purport and importance. F 2 summonses in certain cases. not obeyed, justices may issue warrant ; c. 43. or may issue warrant in the first instance; 11 & 12 VicT. shall be lawful for such justice or justices, if he or they shall think fit, upon oath or affirmation being made before him or them substantiating the matter of such information or complaint to his or their satisfaction, to issue his or their warrant (B.) to apprehend the party so summoned, and to bring him before the same justice or justices, or before some other justice or justices of the peace in and for the same county, riding, division, liberty, city, borough, or place, to answer to the said information or complaint, and to be further dealt with according to law; or upon such information being laid as aforesaid for any offence punishable on conviction the justice or justices before whom such information shall have been laid may, if he or they shall think fit, upon oath or affirmation being made before him or them substantiating the matter of such information to his or their satisfaction, instead of issuing such summons as aforesaid, issue in the first instance his or their warrant (C.) for apprehending the person against whom such information shall have been so laid, and bringing him before the same justice or justices, or before some other justice or justices of the peace in and for the same county, riding, division, liberty, city, borough, or place, to answer to the said information, and to be further dealt with according to law; or if, where a summons shall be so issued as aforesaid, and upon the day and at the place appointed in and by the said summons for the appearance of the party so summoned, such party shall fail to appear accordingly in obedience to such summons, then and in every such case, if it be proved upon oath or affirmation to the justice or justices then present that such summons was duly served upon such party a reasonable time before the time so appointed for his appearance as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for such justice or justices of the peace to proceed ex parte to the hearing of such information or complaint, and to adjudicate thereon, as fully and effectually, to all intents and purposes, as if such party had personally appeared before him or them in obedience to the said summons." (a) or if summons, having been duly served, be not obeyed, the jus tices may proceed ex parte. Form of warrant. Sect. 3. "And be it enacted, that every such warrant to apprehend a defendant, that he may answer to any such information or complaint as aforesaid, shall be under the hand and seal or hands and seals of the justice or justices issuing the same, and may be directed either to any constable or other person by name, or generally to the constable of the parish or other district within which the same is to be executed, without naming him, or to such constable and all other constables within the county or other district within which the justice or justices issuing such warrant hath or have jurisdiction, or generally to all the constables within such last-mentioned county or district, and it shall state shortly the matter of the information or complaint on which it is founded, and shall name or otherwise describe the person against whom it has been issued, and it shall order the constable or other person to whom it is directed to apprehend the said defendant, and to bring him before one or more justice or justices of the peace (as the case may require) of the same county, riding, division, liberty, city, borough, or place, to answer to the said information or complaint, and to be further dealt with according to law; and that it shall not be necessary to make such warrant returnable at any particular time, but the (a) This section enables a justice in all cases in which under the act he may issue his summons in the first instance, to issue his warrant on disobedience to such summons, provided oath or affirmation is made that the summons was served a reasonable time before the time of appearing, of which of course the justice will be the only judge; but before granting his warrant, it will be necessary that the matter of the information or complaint should be substantiated on oath or affirmation. It would seem that any one of the kinds of service enumerated in the first section will be sufficient, and that the service need not be personal though the words are "if the person so served," &c., particularly as this act considers the leaving of the summons with some other person, at his usual place of abode, to be a service upon the person of the defendant. But the justice can in no case under the act issue his warrant in the first instance without oath or affirmation, nor unless it be for an offence punishable upon conviction. |