Problems evolved from these loosely enforced laws. There were quarrels. A judge and jury was elected in each district to settle these arguments. Arrest, trial, and punishment took little time, sometimes only a few hours. Banishment, branding, cutting off ears, flogging, and hanging are our most popular forms of punishment.
Lynchings are so common that they are often viewed as a form of entertainment.
Banishment of an undesirable character is caused by jumping a claim or attacking someone. He is warned to never return to the diggings. Long hair is worn by earless felons who lost their ears as a punishment of a crime. A hot iron caused a permanent scar in branding. In flogging, the criminal is lashed with whips used by the navy and the army.