ting in the district where suit should have been instituted; and should no such plea be filed before trial the justice shall be deemed to have had full jurisdiction.

[In any suit brought before a justice of the peace the defendant, his agent or attorney, may have the cause removed to the next nearest justice, upon filing an affidavit with the justice issuing the writ, on the return day or day of trial of the action, that he does not believe said justice will give him a fair and impartial trial.]

Sec. 6. SALARY.-Each of said justices of the peace shall receive an annual salary of three thousand dollars, and the further sum of two hundred and fifty dollars annually for rent, stationery, and other expenses, to be paid monthly by the District of Columbia; and he shall render monthly accounts to the auditor of the District of Columbia of all moneys received by him for fees, and shall pay over such fees to the collector of said District and take his receipt in duplicate therefor, and file one of them with said auditor and retain the other in his office, and the money so collected shall be disposed of by said collector as other moneys belonging to the said District are.

Sec. 7. JURY TRIALS.-Trial by jury before justices of the peace is hereby abolished.

Sec. 8. RULES AND FEES.-The supreme court of theistrict of Columbia in general term shall make rules regulating the practice and pleading before justices of the peace, and in relation to appeals from their judgments, not inconsistent with law, and may alter and amend the same from time to time, and shall also fix the fees to be charged by said justices of the peace, and alter them from time to time as justice may require: Provided, That in all cases of concurrent jurisdiction the defendant may remove the case for trial into the supreme court of the District by a writ of certiorari (to be awarded by said court or one of the justices thereof upon a petition under oath, the form and substance whereof shall be prescribed by said court.)

Sec. 9. JURISDICTION.-The said justices of the [place] peace shall have jurisdiction in all civil cases in which the amount claimed to be due for debt or damages arising out of contracts, express or implied, or damages for wrongs or injuries to persons or property, does not exceed three hundred dollars, including all proceedings by attachment or in replevin where the amount claimed or the value of the property involved does not exceed said sum, except in cases involving the title to real estate, actions to recover damages for assault or assault and battery, or for malicious prosecution, or actions against justices of the peace or other officers for official misconduct, or actions for slander or libel, or actions on promises to marry; and said jurisdiction shall be exclusive when the amount claimed for debt or damages or the value of personal property claimed does not exceed fifty dollars, and concurrent with the said supreme court when it exceeds fifty dollars.

Sec. 10. TRESPASS.-The said jurisdiction of justices of the peace shall extend to cases of trespass upon or injury to real estate: Provided, That if the defendant shall file with the justice an affidavit that he claims title or acts under a person claiming title to the real estate, setting forth the nature of his title, the justice shall take no further cognizance of the case.

Sec. 11. NONRESIDENTS.

Nonresidents shall not commence a suit before a justice of the peace without first giving security for costs.

Sec. 12. [JUDGMENTS] Judgments and Executions.-It shall be lawful for any justice of the peace, in all cases within his jurisdiction, to try, hear, and determine the matter in controversy between the parties upon their allegations and proofs, and to give judgment according to law; and all judgments for money rendered by them shall bear interest from their date until paid or satisfied, unless by the terms of the judgment interest runs from an earlier date. Justices of the peace are authorized to issue writs of execution in all cases in which they are authorized to render judgment. A judgment entered by a justice of the peace shall remain in force for three years and no more after its rendition, unless the same shall have been docketed in the supreme court of the District of Columbia, as provided by section twenty-nine.-Act of June 30, 1902.

Sec. 13. REPLEVIN.-A Justice of the peace shall have authority to issue a writ of replevin whenever a plaintiff shall file with him a declaration in replevin in the following or an equivalent form, to wit:

"The plaintiff sues the defendant for wrongfully taking and detaining (or wrongfully detaining) his, said plaintiff's, goods and chattels, to wit (here describe them), of the value of dollars. And the plaintiff claims that the same may be taken and delivered to him, or, if they are eloigned, that he may have judgment for their value and all mesne profits and damages, which he estimates at dollars, besides costs." And at the same time said plaintiff, his agent, or attorney shall file an affidavit stating, first, that, according to affiant's information and belief, the plaintiff is entitled to recover possession of the chattels described in the declaration; secondly, that the defendant has seized and detains or detains the same; thirdly, that said chattels were not subject to such seizure or detention, and were not taken under any writ of replevin between the parties; fourthly, that said chattels are not of the value of more than three hundred dollars; and at the same time the plaintiff shall enter into an undertaking, with surety approved by said justice, submitting to the jurisdiction of the court, to abide by and perform the judgment of said justice's court or of the supreme court of the District of Columbia.

Sec. 14. OFFICER'S RETURN.-If the officer's return of the writ of replevin be that he has served the defendant with copies of the declaration, affidavit, and summons, but that he could not get possession of the goods and chattels sued for, the plaintiff may prosecute the action for the value of the goods and damages for the detention, not to exceed in all three hundred dollars, or he may renew the writ, in order to get possession of the goods and chattels themselves.

Sec. 15. PUBLICATION.-If the officer's return be that he has taken possession of the goods and chattels sued for, but that the defendant is not to be found, the said justice may order that the defendant appear to the action by some fixed day, and cause notice of such order to be given by publication in some newspaper of said District at least three times, the first publication to be at least twenty days before the day fixed for the defendant's appearance; and if the defendant fails to appear, the court may proceed, as in case of default after personal service, to render judgment for the property in favor of the plaintiff.

Sec. 16. PLEAS.-If the defendant appears, he may plead not guilty, in which case all matters of defense may be given in evidence, or he may plead specially.

Sec. 17. MARSHAL TO RETAIN PROPERTY.-Property taken by the marshal under a writ of replevin, issued by a justice of the peace, shall be retained by him for three days, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, before delivering the same to the plaintiff, in order that the defendant or other persons claiming an interest therein may present objections to the said justice to the sufficiency of the security on the undertaking or the jurisdiction of said justice, and if the said justice shall deem said undertaking insufficient, such property may be directed to be retained by the marshal for a further short time, to be designated by said justice, until an undertaking to be approved by him shall be filed, in default of which the marshal shall return the property to the person from whom it was taken; or if it shall be made to appear to the said justice that the property is of the value of over three hundred dollars he shall quash the writ of replevin and direct the property to be returned to the party out of whose possession it was taken.

Sec. 18. DAMAGES FOR PLAINTIFF. Whether the defendant plead and the issue joined be found against him, or his plea be held bad, or he make default after personal service, the plaintiff's damages shall be the full value of the goods, not to exceed three hundred dollars, if eloigned by the defendant, and damages for the detention thereof, and judgment shall be given accordingly.

Sec. 19. JUDGMENT FOR DEFENDANT.-If the issue be found for the defendant, or the plaintiff shall dismiss or fail to prosecute his suit, the judgment shall be that the goods, if delivered to the plaintiff, be returned to the defendant, with damages for their detention, or, on failure, that the defendant recover from the plaintiff and his surety the damages sustained by him, to be assessed by the justice.

Sec. 20. FORCIBLE ENTRY AND DETAINER.-Whenever any person shall forcibly enter and detain any building or inclosed real property, or shall unlawfully, but without force, enter and unlawfully and forcibly detain the same, or whenever any tenant shall unlawfully detain possession of the property leased to him, after his tenancy therein has expired, or any mortgagor or grantor in a mortgage or deed of trust to secure a debt, shall unlawfully detain the possession of the real property conveyed, after a sale thereof under such deed of trust or a foreclosure of the mortgage, or any person claiming under such mortgagor or grantor, after the date of the mortgage or deed of trust, shall so detain the same, or a judgment debtor or any person claiming under him, since the date of the judgment, shall so detain possession of real property, after a sale thereof under an execution issued on such judgment, it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace, on complaint under oath by the person aggrieved by said unlawful detention, to issue a summons to the party complained of to appear and show cause why judgment should not be given against him for the restitution of the possession.

Sec. 21. SUMMONS.-The summons shall be served seven days, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, before the day fixed for the trial of the action. If the defendant has left the District of Columbia, or can not be found, said summons may be served by delivering a copy thereof to the tenant, or by leaving the same with some person above the age of sixteen years residing on or in possession of the premises sought to be recovered, and if no one be in actual possession of said

premises, or residing thereon, by posting a copy of said summons on the premises where it may be conveniently read.

Sec. 22. JUDGMENT.-If upon the trial it appears that the plaintiff is entitled to the possession of the premises, judgment and execution for the possession shall be awarded in his favor, with costs; if the plaintiff becomes nonsuit or fails to prove his right to the possession, the defendant shall have judgment and execution for his costs.

Sec. 23. PLEA OF TITLE.-If upon the trial the defendant pleads title to the premises, in himself or in another under whom he claims, setting forth the nature of said title, under oath, and shall enter into an undertaking, with sufficient surety, to be approved by the justice, to pay all intervening damages and costs and reasonable intervening rent for the premises, the justice shall certify the proceedings to the supreme court of the District of Columbia, and the same shall be further continued in said court according to its rules.

Sec. 24. JUDGMENT NOT A BAR.-A judgment, either before the justice or in the supreme court, upon appeal in this proceeding, shall not be a bar to any after action brought by either party or conclude any question of title between them, where title is not pleaded by the defendant as aforesaid.

Sec. 25. WITNESSES.-Justices of the peace shall have power to compel the attendance of witnesses from any part of the District of Columbia by attachment and to punish them for disobedience, as well as to punish anyone for disorder or contempt committed in their presence, by fine not exceeding ten dollars or imprisonment not exceeding ten days.

Sec. 26. NONRESIDENT WITNESSES.-Where the testimony of nonresident witnesses is required by either party the justice may, upon motion designating the names of such witnesses, appoint an examiner to take such testimony, to whom he shall issue a commission; and said testimony shall be taken on written interrogatories and cross-interrogatories, which written interrogatories shall be filed with said justice at least three days before the issue of such commission: Provided, That such commission shall not issue unless the party, or his agent or attorney, applying therefor file his affidavit, setting forth that he believes that the testimony of said witnesses is material to the issue in said suit and that the motion is not made for the purpose of delay.

Sec. 27. DEATH OF JUSTICE.-In case of the death, or inability to act, of any justice or the expiration of his commission after judgment rendered by him and before execution is issued thereon, any other justice, upon a copy of said judgment being filed with him, may issue execution thereon, which shall be returned to the justice issuing the

same.

Sec. 28. SATISFACTION OF JUDGMENT.-No judgment or execution shall be recorded as satisfied without the receipt of the plaintiff or his attorney annexed thereto.

Sec. 29. DOCKETING JUDGMENT IN SUPREME COURT.-After recovering a judgment for twenty dollars or more, exclusive of costs, before a justice of the peace, the judgment creditor may, when execution is returned "No personal property found whereon to levy," file in the clerk's office of the supreme court of the District a certified copy of

said judgment, which shall be docketed in the docket of law causes in said office in the same manner as appeals from justices are there docketed; and when it is docketed the force and effect of the judgment for all purposes shall be the same [as to lien and execution] as if it had been a judgment of the said supreme court.

Sec. 30. APPEAL.--Where the debt or demand or the value of personal property claimed exceeds five dollars, and in actions for the recovery of possession of real estate as aforesaid, either party who may think himself aggrieved by the judgment or other final order of a justice of the peace may appeal to the supreme court of the District; such appeal to be prayed within six days after the entering of the judgment.

Sec. 31. UNDERTAKING.-No appeal shall be allowed unless the appellant, with sufficient surety, approved by the justice, shall enter into an undertaking to satisfy and pay whatever final judgment may be recovered in the appellate court, and agree that such judgment may be entered against principal and sureties. Such undertaking must be given within six days, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, after the entry of judgment. And where said undertaking has been given the justice shall immediately file the original papers, and a copy of his docket entries, in the office of the clerk of the supreme court, and notify the appellant or his attorney thereof.

Sec. 32. PRACTICE.-The practice and forms of proceeding in trials before justices and in trials of appeals from justices, so far as not herein directed, shall be governed by the rules of said supreme court.

Sec. 33. CLAIMANT OF PROPERTY LEVIED ON.-When personal property taken on execution or other process issued by a justice of the peace is claimed by a person other than the defendant therein, or is claimed by the defendant to be property exempt from execution, and such claimant shall give notice, in writing, to the marshal of his claim, or the defendant shall give notice, in writing, that the property is exempt, the marshal shall notify the plaintiff of such claim and return said notice to the justice who issued the execution, and a trial of said right of property, or said question of exemption, shall be had before said justice.

Sec. 34. The case made by such claim shall be entered on the justice's docket as an action by the claimant or the defendant against the plaintiff and tried in the same manner as other cases before justices of the peace.

Sec. 35. In case the property shall appear to belong to the claimant or to be exempt from [execution] such process, judgment shall be entered against the plaintiff [in the execution] for costs, and the property levied upon shall be released. If the property shall not appear to belong to the claimant or to be exempt, as aforesaid, judgment shall be entered against said claimant or the defendant, as the case may be, for costs, including additional costs occasioned by the delay in the execution of the writ. An appeal may be taken from the judgment, as in other cases, provided the same is prayed within four days after the entering of the judgment and an appeal bond is given within six days, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, thereafter.

Sec. 36. In case of an appeal the marshal shall retain the property unless the claimant or the defendant in the execution or his agent shall