Charges

“ If all the cities have been compelled to make roads, and if the works of many of them have not been passed, then certainly both charges are false,—the charge that money has been given for exemption, when no one was exempted ”

“ Nay, there are some other, that account wife and children, but as bills of charges. ”

“ Any person who shall, directly or indirectly, solicit, contract for, charge, or receive, or who shall attempt to solicit, contract for, charge, or receive, any fee or compensation, except as herein provided, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and for each and every offense shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment at hard labor for not more than two years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.' 43 Stat. ”

“ And be it further enacted, That all penalties, fines and forfeitures, which may have been incurred by virtue of the provisions of the aforesaid act, be, and the same hereby are, respectively, remitted, on payment, by the parties, by whom such penalty, fine or forfeiture may have been incurred, of all costs which have accrued, or may accrue before notice of this act shall have been received by the attornies of the several districts of the United States. ”

“ The secretary for signing, and the clerk for writing your commission; the cashier for delivering it, and the messenger for informing you of it, have all their fixed prices. Have you a lawsuit, the judge announces to you that so much has been offered by your opponent, and so much is expected from you, if you desire to win your cause. When you are the defendant against the Crown, the attorney or solicitor-general lets you know that such a douceur is requisite to procure such an issue. Even in criminal proceedings, not only honour, but life, may be saved by pecuniary sacrifices. ”

“ Provided, That should the prosecutor offer himself, or be admitted, as a witness for the prosecution, he shall forfeit all claim to any part of the penalty, and the whole shall go to the county, and the court shall give judgment accordingly; and the person so offending, and the officers of any corporation, shall also be liable to pay the amount of any note, bill, check, draft, or other paper, constituting part of such currency, to any holder thereof, with all costs incident to the protest and legal collection thereof, with fifty per cent. ”

“ We have defined a criminal proceeding as one designed for the punishment of a wrong done by the defendant, and a civil proceeding as one designed for the enforcement of a right vested in the plaintiff. ”

“ When a judgment for a fine is rendered by a court of record having jurisdiction in criminal cases, the court may also provide, as a part of the judgment, that the defendant be imprisoned until the fine is paid. ”

“ Day of . . .] , and we direct that the said Sum of . . . [i.e. the Amount of the Fine] shall be paid to . . . of . . . aforesaid, in which the said Offence was committed, to be by him applied according to the Directions of the Statute in that Case made and provided; and we order that the said Sum of . . . for Costs shall be paid to C.D. [the Party aggrieved] . Given under our Hands the Day and Year first above mentioned.'
No Certiorari, &c. ”

“ For actions under 10 pounds in a superior court and actions under 40s. in an inferior court, the offender shall be served with process to appear in court rather than being arrested. For money at issue, an affidavit shall be taken. No more money may be taken for bail than the amount at controversy. This is to prevent frivolous and vexatious arrests. Perjurers, forgers, those involved in barratry or suborning perjury, and pretenders practicing as attorneys or solicitors in the courts of law or equity shall be transported for seven years to the American colonies. ”

“ The questions presented for consideration here upon the aforegoing bills of exceptions and the proofs to which they refer are these: 1. Whether the sums of money placed in the hands of the late marshal by the secretary of the Treasury, and forming a part of the aggregate found by the verdict of the jury, were so advanced in conformity with the law, as to create a liability on the part of the sureties of the marshal for their proper application by that officer? ”

“ The limitation of a prescription generally taken is from the time that no man's mind runs to the contrary.
19. Assigns may be made upon lands given in fee, for term of life, or for term of years, though no mention be made of assigns; and the same law is of a rent that is granted; but otherwise it is of a warranty, and of a covenant.
20. He who recovers debt or damages in the King's court when the person charged is not in custody, may within a year after the judgment take the body of the defendant, and commit him to prison until he has paid the debt and damages. ”

“ If anyone does not attend court when it is called, or fails to prove his case when he has brought suit, or challenges a man and is defeated, or does not come promptly to court, or disturbs the court by word or deed, or fails to pay a debt when the court has given judgment against him, he shall pay the judge his fine. ”

“ No act of theft or plunder can be laid to your charge. No litigation or disputing or quarrelling can be laid to your charge. As for the people who have money of yours, it would be difficult to count them. ”

“ For the purpose of determining by suit or by prosecution whether a man is a debtor or is an offender, a suit or a prosecution may be commenced against him, but never for the purpose of raising a presumption that he is either the one or the other, or to deprive him of [Pg 422] any evidence to which an unindebted or an innocent man is entitled, or to change the tribunal which is to try the question of indebtedness or of guilt. ”

“ One against whom, after [a plea of] denial, judgment is given, shall pay the amount [adjudged to the plaintiff] together with an equal sum to the monarch. [52] One who has made a false complaint, shall forfeit double the amount of his claim.
12. In a case of atrocious violence, of theft, of reviling or personal trespass, [53] where a cow is the [12] subject, or a [malicious] charge of crime, [54] or an offence destructive of life or property [54] where a female [of the household] is the subject— [in each of these cases] the Court shall compel the parties to go to trial forthwith. ”

“ In the case of judgments in criminal or quasi-criminal cases, where a fine is imposed, it is in most cases legal and usual to order imprisonment if the fine is not paid or if the property of the defendant is insufficient to realize its amount. ”

“ Courts, jurors, and witnesses.For defraying the expenses of the Supreme Court, circuit, and district courts of the United States, including the District of Columbia, and of jurors and witnesses, in aid of the funds arising from fines, penalties, and forfeitures, and for defraying the expenses of prosecutions for offences against the United States, and for the safe keeping of prisoners, sixty-five thousand dollars. ”

“ Touching the exaction of penalties, when a man appears to have done anything which deserves a fine, he shall pay the fine, if he have anything in excess of the lot which is assigned to him; but more than that he shall not pay. ”

“ You shall truly without partiality collect and gather up or cause to be collected and gathered up all and every such fines, pains, penalties, forfeitures and sums of money whatsoever that shall be forfeited, payable or due by any of you, or any of your Occupation, or by any other person or persons whatsoever by reason or force of this your Ordinal ”

“ Again, proctors, apparitors, registrars, and other scribes whose fees depended on citations and the drawing up of court proceedings, documents, or certificates, had every interest in haling persons before the official, because court fees had to be paid whether a man were found innocent or guilty. ”

“ This charge presented in a clear and, as we believe, correct light a sound view of the question of damages as it relates to this case. To it no exception was taken, nor to any part of it. On the whole, we do not find any error in the record, and the judgment of the circuit court is accordingly affirmed. ”

“ How far a writ of scire facias upon a recognizance to answer for an offense should be considered a civil action is a question upon which there has been some diversity of judicial opinion, depending in some degree upon the manner in which the question has arisen, and upon the comparative regard to be paid to the form of the proceedings, and to the purpose for which and the circumstances under which such a recognizance is taken. ”

“ A man is HELD to answer a charge, &c., &c. In all these cases the word “hold” implies a perfect obligation or certain liability. But a man is “CHARGED” with an offence when a grand jury has found an indictment against him, or when a competent person has made the requisite oath. ”

“ It will be as much a judgment that may be carried into effect by judicial process as one for money, or for the recovery of property, or a judgment in mandamus commanding the performance of an act or duty which the law requires to be performed, or a judgment prohibiting the doing of something which the law will not sanction. ”

“ He was bound to pay his accuser only a portion of the fine which he would incur if proved guilty—a portion varying with different offences from one-fourth to one-sixth of the wer-gild. The interests of the tribunal were guarded by a clause which compelled him to pay to the grafio, or judge, the full fredum, or public fine, if his conscience impelled him to submit to an arrangement for more than the legal percentage. ”

“ Every master shall keep on board proper weights and measures for the purpose of determining the quantities of the several provisions and articles served out, and shall allow the same to be used at the {14} time of serving out such provisions and articles, in the presence of a witness, whenever any dispute arises about such quantities, and in default shall, for every offense, be liable to a penalty of not more than fifty dollars. ”

“ Section 3011 provides that any person who shall have made payment under protest of any money as duties, when such amount of duties was not, or was not wholly, authorized by law, may maintain an action, which shall be triable by jury, to ascertain the validity of such demand and payment of duties, and to recover back any excess so paid ”

“ In lieu of proportioning a fine to a particular individual's ability to pay or allowing a process by which a person could petition the court for a reduction, the court offers payment plans to those who cannot afford to immediately pay in full. ”

“ All fines shall be moderate and proportioned to the offence; and excessive bail shall not be required, nor cruel nor unusual punishments inflicted.Contracts not to be impaired, &c. No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed; nor shall private property be taken for public uses without just compensation. ”

“ Any person who fails to pay on a timely basis the amount of an assessment of a civil penalty as described in the first sentence of this paragraph shall be required to pay, in addition to such amount and interest, attorneys fees and costs for collection proceedings. ”

“ Section 5, article 535, of the Penal Code, provides that those who, to the prejudice of another, shall appropriate or misapply any money, goods, or any kind of personal property which they may have received as a deposit on commission for administration, or in any other character producing the obligation to deliver or return the same, or who shall deny having received it, shall incur certain penalties. ”

“ If a pleading, motion, or other paper is signed in violation of this rule, the court, upon motion or upon its own initiative, shall impose upon the person who signed it, a represented party, or both, an appropriate sanction, which may include an order to pay to the other party or parties the amount of the reasonable expenses incurred because of the filing of the pleading, motion, or other paper, including a reasonable attorney's fee. ”

“ He who in court tries to protect himself or one of his men by bringing a countercharge shall have wasted his words, and shall meet the charge brought by his opponent in such a way as the hundred court shall determine. ”

“ The second bill of exceptions sets forth that the plaintiffs produced the dockets and records of the court, showing that in a number of cases where judgments had been entered against defendants for common law fines, forfeitures, and costs, and the said defendants had paid the amounts so respectively adjudged against them to the marshal, and entries were made by the said marshal or his deputy, on the said dockets, 'money made and ready,' 'money paid;' and that the amounts so received amounted, &c. ”

“ Two or more Justices to hear and determine offences committed against this Act, within the limitation of three months; magistrates have power to mitigate penalties to one-fourth; reasonable costs, &c. must always be paid. ”

“ In like manner, if any of the men of the aforesaid brethren shall have incurred a fine to be paid to ourselves or to any of our bailiffs, under any process, or for any crime, or any other matter, the amercements of money shall be collected and brought in a purse to our exchequer, and there handed over to the aforesaid brethren ”

“ The judges of the inferior courts, if, from defect of evidence, or any other cause, they are unable to prove that relief was absolutely needed, must pay all the expenses from their own private purses. ”

“ Should you be fortunate enough to break a policeman’s head, or drive over an old woman, you will find that your purse will not only add to the éclat of the transaction, but most materially assist the magistrate before whom you may be taken in determining that the case is very trifling, and that a fine of 5s. ”