THE SUMMARY JURISDICTION ACT, 1848. (11 & 12 VICT. c. 43.) An Act to facilitate the Performance of the Duties of Justices of the Peace out of Sessions, within England and Wales, with respect to summary convictions and [14th August, 1848.] orders. 1. Where information laid that an offence punishable on summary conviction has been committed, etc.-Summons.] In all cases where an information shall be laid before one or more of her Majesty's justices of the peace for any county, riding, division, liberty, city, borough, or place, within England or Wales, that any person has committed or is suspected to have committed any offence or act within the jurisdiction of such justice or justices for which he is liable by law, upon a summary conviction for the same before a justice or justices of the peace, to be imprisoned or fined, or otherwise punished, and also in all cases where a complaint shall be made to any 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 [2] 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 said information or complaint, and to be further dealt with according to law; and every such summons shall be Sect. 1. 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 and before the justices in the said summons mentioned, to dispose, if necessary, to the service of the said summons Provided always, that nothing herein mentioned shall oblige any justice or justices of the peace to issue any such summons in any case where the application for any order of justices is by law to be made ex parte : Provided also, that no objection 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 some future day. This Act, the Indictable Offences Act, 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 42), post, and the Justices Protection Act, 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 44), post, were originally known as Jervis' Acts." By 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63, s. 13 (7), post, the expression "The Summary Jurisdiction (England) Acts," and the expression "The Summary Jurisdiction (English) Acts," shall respectively mean the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1848, and the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, and any Act, past or future, amending those Acts or either of them. Jurisdiction.-As to the local jurisdiction of courts of summary jurisdiction, see section 46 of the S. J. Act, 1879, post. As to jurisdiction of justices generally, see note to s. 6, post, p. 32. No new offence is cognizable in a summary manner unless expressly made so by Act of Parliament. See, however, Cullen v. Trimble, L. R. 7 Q. B. 416, post, p. 32, and the examination and punishment of offenders by justices of the peace in a summary manner is entirely founded on special authority given and regulated by statute. With regard to the power to convict without an information having been laid or summons issued, see Blake v. p. 74. And in case of a child or young person, see notes to S. J. Procedure before Justices.-In R. v. D'Eyncourt, L. R. 21 Q. B. D. 109; 52 J. P. 628; 57 L. J. M. C. 64, FIELD, J., said: "Upon the authority of Turner v. Postmaster-General, and Blake v. Beech, there is no doubt that charges may be preferred at the hearing although not included in any warrant or in any charge before a police court." The distinction between an "information" and a "complaint" should always be kept in mind. An information is laid against a person charged with the commission of, or who is suspected to have committed, an offence for which he is liable by law, upon a summary conviction, to be imprisoned or fined, or otherwise punished. A complaint against a person is made when that person is liable by law to have an order made upon him by justices for the payment of money, or to do some act which he has refused or neglected to do contrary to law. The first step in summary proceedings before justices is laying the information or making the complaint; and the next the issuing of process, in order to secure the defendant's appearance. This process is of two kinds : a summons or a warrant. On the appearance of the defendant to a summons at the time and place therein mentioned, the matter is heard by the justices present in conformity with procedure provided by subsequent sections of this Act. But if the defendant does not appear personally or by his attorney or counsel the case may be heard ex parte in his absence, on the proof of the summons having been served in the manner provided by this section, and that sufficient time has been allowed the defendant to appear before the justices, or on the non-appearance of the defendant the justices may adopt the alternative procedure under s. 2 of this Act. A complaint need not be in writing (s. 8). In adjudicating upon an information the defendant is either convicted or acquitted. In the former case the Forms [11 and 12] (see s. 14, post) are made use of, and in them the penalty or punishment determined upon is awarded; in the latter an order of dismissal in made in the Form [21] (see. s. 14). But in adjudicating upon a complaint an order is made for the payment of money, Form [18], or for the matter complained of to be done Form [19], or the complaint is dismissed as in Form [21]. The method of enforcing an order or conviction is the same-by warrant of distress or commitment to prison. As with the judgments of other courts, so in proceedings before justices, a final judgment made by a court of summary jurisdiction Sect. 1. NOTE. Sect. 1. NOTE. directly upon the point in issue is conclusive between the same the "Res judicata" and Estoppel.-As regards the doctrine of res judicata, see Leith Harbour and Docks Commissioners v. Inspector of the Poor, 1 L. R. Scotch Appeals, 17; Jenkins, app., Robertson, resp., 2 L. R. Scotch Appeals, 117, and Bollard v. Spring, 51 J. P. 501, and note to s. 14, post. See on the subject of res judicata generally, Everset and Strode on Estoppel, Chap. III., and 50 J. P. N. 177. Issue of Summons.—A summons may be issued by one justice on information or complaint made before him of matter arising within his own jurisdiction, even though the hearing is by law required to take place before two or more justices (see s. 29, post). It has been held that an information for using a place for betting contrary to the Betting Act, 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c. 119), s. 3, need not be laid before two justices (Lee v. Gold, 44 J. P. 395). This statute does expressly require an information to be in writing, but for the protection of the justice issuing the summons it would seem advisable that the information should be in writing, and this is warranted by the fact that a form of information is given in the S. J. Rules of 1886, Form [1], post. In R. v. Millard, 6 Cox, 150; Dears. 166; 22 L. J. M. C. 108, PARKE, B., said: "A magistrate cannot proceed without an information laid before him, but the rule of law is, that unless a statute expressly requires it, the information need not be on oath nor even in writing." The practice at several important police courts, however, is to require written information of all offences punishable on summary conviction, following the forms now given in the Consolidated Rules, 1886. See also R. v. Combe, 32 L. J. M. C. 67; 11 W. R. 441; R. v. Rawlins, 8 C. & P. 441. Service of Summons.-The constable should always attend at the time appointed for the hearing to prove service (if necessary), in compliance with the requirements of this section. What Sufficient Service.-It has been held sufficient service upon the defendant for the constable to leave a copy of the summons with a woman living in the defendant's house, and believed by him to be the defendant's menial servant, the original of the summons being at the same time shown to her (R. v. Chandler, 14 East, 267). See also Er parte Lowe, 2 N. Sess. Cases, 331. As to proof of service by declaration, see s. 41 of the S. J. Act, 1879. post. If a summons be served on a defendant by leaving it with some person for him at his last or most usual place of abode, the nature of the summons must be explained to the person with whom it is left; and where the defendant was at sea pursuing his occupation as a fisherman from March 9th to 13th, and it was proved that a summons had been left at his mother's house on the 10th, but he did not know of it until after he was convicted on the 12th, it was held that the justices had acted without jurisdiction, and a rule for a certiorari to bring up and quash the conviction was made absolute (Re William Smith, L. R. 10 Q. B. 608; 39 J. P. 613; 32 L. T. (N.S.) 394; 23 W. R. 523). See also Smith v. Ewen, 39 J. P. 724, and R. v. Hall, 6 D. & R. 84. "Last" Place of Abode.-In Ex parte Rice Jones, 1 Lowndes, Maxwell and Pollock, 357, and 19 L. J. M. C. 151, the jurisdiction of petty sessions to make an affiliation order under the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 101), s. 3 (repealed, but substituted provisions made by 35 & 36 Vict. c. 65), where the putative father did not appear, only attaches "on proof that the summons was duly served on such person, or left at his last place of abode," COLERIDGE, J., saying that "the word last means the then present place of abode if he have any, and the last which he had if he has ceased to have any; although the justices have jurisdiction to make an order on proof that the summons has been duly served, yet if it can afterwards be shown to this court that in point of fact the summons was not duly served, this court will grant a certiorari to bring up an order so that it may be quashed." In R. v. Farmer and Others, JJ. of Salford, [1892] 1 Q. B. 637 ; 56 J. P. 341; 17 Cox, 413; 61 L. J. M. C. 65, a case arising under the Bastardy Laws Amendment Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 65), it was held that a summons left at the last place of abode in England of a defendant, who at the time had left England and had a place of abode abroad, was not duly served under this section. Sect. 1. NOTE. |