No Jury in the Supreme Court.—­There is no jury in the supreme court.  Questions of fact are determined in the lower courts.  Appeals are on questions of law.  A transcript of the proceedings in the trial court is submitted to the supreme court.  Ask a lawyer to show you a brief and a paper book.

Some Pertinent Questions.

Give the jurisdiction of a justice court.  Of a probate court.  Of a district or circuit court.  Of the supreme court?

Who is the recording officer of a justice court?  Of a probate court?  Of a district court?  Of the supreme court?

Who keeps a record of the testimony in a justice court?  In a district court?  What is meant by “noting an exception,” and why is it done?  If a person is dissatisfied with the decision of the supreme court, what can he do about it?

Who besides the judges of the supreme court can issue the writ of habeas corpus?

Name the justices of the supreme court of this state.  How are they chosen?  How long do they serve?  How many terms does this court hold annually?  Where are they held?  How long do they last?  Read some of the syllabi of the decisions as they appear in the newspapers.  Who prepares these outlines for the press?

Which state in the Union has the largest supreme court?  Which has the smallest?  Which demands the highest qualifications?  In which is the term the longest?  In which the shortest?  Does a decision of the supreme court of New York have any weight in Minnesota?  Which states rank highest in the value attached to the decisions of their supreme courts?  How do you account for this?

Paper:  By means of pages 292-7, &c., prepare a tabular view of your state, taking that on pages 314-15 as a model.

CHAPTER XVI.

RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT.

Each Organization a Miniature Government.—­Some things of general interest are matters for regulation by the state as a whole, through its legislature.  But many things are properly left to local regulation.  For instance, in a timbered town, where fences can be cheaply built, it may be desirable, especially if there is much wild land, to let cattle run at large, each person fencing out the cattle from his crops.  On the other hand, in a prairie town, where fencing is expensive, or where there is little wild land, it may seem best to arrange that each person shall fence in his own cattle.  No persons can judge which is the better plan for a given neighborhood so well as the people who live there.  And to them it is left, to be determined at the annual meeting.  In passing upon such questions, in appropriating money for local improvements, &c., powers pseudo-legislative are exercised.  Matters of detail are determined by the supervisors, and they with the clerk, the treasurer, the road overseers, the constables, and the assessor, constitute what may be called the executive, or more properly the administrative, department.  And the local judicial functions are performed by the justices of the peace.  Similarly it may be shown that the village, the city, and the county are governments in miniature.