The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-27
TO COUNTY MAGISTRATES
District Attorney John X. Jones Ad-
dresses an Open Letter to Them.
GIVES VALUABLE INFORMATION
An Observance Of His Rccommc ndat atiOns
viii Materially Assist the Work of
Administering Justice In tho Grim.
inal Courts Of tho County.


District Attorney John r. Jones has
prepared the following open letter to
the aldermen and Justices of the peace
of the county which contains much val
liable Information for them:
l am in receipt OF letters, almost
daily. from justices of the peace
throughout the county, requesting in
formation concerning the form of their
transcripts in criminal classes and as
to the time of filing Or returning the
same to the clerk of the courts Office.
The following Information, II put into
practice by committing magistrates.
| will greatly expedite the criminal busi-
ness of the county:
As to Making transcripts in Criminal
Cases-lt Is much easier, as u general
rule, to make out transcripts in GRIM
inal cases than in civil. In civil cases
transcripts should be made SO as to
stand the severe test of certiorari; In
criminal cases very seldom are magis-
trates served with writs of certiOrari.
But there are certain requirements
which criminal transcripts should con-
tain, the omission of which makes 1t
very troublesome to the district attor-
| ney. and causes delay in drawing In
dictments.
he Particular About Names.
Write Names Correctly and Legibly-
Give the correct names of the prosecu-
tor, defendant bail Qf recognizance be
entered) and of all material witnesses
for the commonwealth. Write them In
as legible II manner as you can, so
their names may appear correctly In
the Indictments and upon the records of
th. me "a ma
do not omit her Christian name. Write
1t. for instance. commonwealth VS..
Mary Brown, and not commonwealth
VS.. Mrs. John Brown. Failure to OBJ
| serve these requirements means delay
in drawing indictments. which, In turn.
| means delay to prosecutors and their
witnesses when they appear to have
their cases heard. The haste In which
transcripts are oftentimes made out,
no doubt, accounts for the frequent H.
leglbility of the names. But l am
pleased to say that this criticism ap-
plies to but few of the magistrates OF
the county.
State Technically the Crime. Then
Follow by Giving Concise Statement
1t Is sufficient simply to state the
technical name of the crime. exemplia
gratia. arson, burglary robbery. etc.
| A concise statement of the crcum-
stances should be given, including the
| time when the crime was committed.
From this statement the district attor-
! ney can draw the proper indicament
without waiting to converse with the
prosecutor. 1t often happens that the
statement shows the crime to be differ
ent than that named in the transcript.
Failure to set forth these statements
interfere very materially with the dis
patch of business. In that event the
district attorney must wait until grand
| jury week, when the prosecutors ap-
pear. from whom statements concern
ing their cases must first be obtained
before the indictments, especially in
| the more important cases, can be pre-
pared, which must necessarily delay
| the hearings, increase the costs OF the
cases and prove an annoyance to prose-
cutors and their witnesses. If this re-
uuirement be strictly complied with Ut
Will save the county and litigants much
costs and will greatly aid the district
attorney in the discharge of his duties.
Name the Injured Person.
Assault and BaIttery-It should ap-
pear upon whom the assault and bat
terry was committed. lit frequently
happens that one person prosecutes In
behalf of another, as, for instance.
husband or father prosecuting for an
assault and battery committed upon his
wife, his son or daughter. 1t the Of
fense be committed upon public Off
Ger, state the character of his office,
whether constable, special policeman,
etc.
Arson or Attempt to Commit Arson
The character of the building should
be stated. whether dwelling house,
barn or other building parcel of THE
dwelling or contiguous thereto, store
house, etc, for it may be felony or
misdemeanor. according to the char
acter of the building, In which case the
indictments are essentially different.
Burglary-The character of the build
ing burglarized should be set forth,
whether a dwelling house, barn, store
house, depot, etc, and the time when
entered, in the daytime or night time.
what goods were stolen, II any. and
the value thereof, so that 1t may be
known whether the crime Is common
law burglary or statutory burglary the
Indictment in the former case being
materially different than in the latter.
Cruelty to Animals-State what the
animal was. whether a horse, COW. etc.
II animal was hired Of prosecutor and
he was a liveryman, state this fact.
It Is necessary to have this informa-
tion to know whether the offense Is
negligence by bailee or simply cruelty
to animals.
Forgery-The document alleged to be
forged should be mailed forthwith to
the district attorney. II the prosecutor
should insist upon Vt remaining IN his
possession, a copy of 1t should then be
attached to the transcript.
Give the Sex Of the Child.
Fornication and Bastardy-The sex
of the child, II born, should be given. as
1t Is necessary to state this fact In
the Indictment. The ages OF the par
ties should be stated, because IL the
Young lady was under the age of IL
years and the young man was 16 years
of age and upward when the offense
was committed, he should he indicted
for statutory rape and not simply for
nication and bastardy. This informa-
tion is necessary In order to know the
ofYense for which the defendant should
be indicted.
False Pretence-It Is absolutely nee
essary that a statement Of the alleged
false representations. containing all the
material facts, should be set forth in
hte transcript, or, at least. accompany
It. If the information filed with the
magistrate be sent with the transcript,
Il will suffice. without this informa-
tion indictments for this offense can
not be prepared In advance.
Forcible Entry and Detainer-A de-
scrlption Of the real estate by metes
and bounds should be set forth In the
transcript, or accompany same.
Larceny and Receiving-Mentlon the
articles stolen, the value thereof and
the name of owner If money was
taken. state the denomination Of It.
Whether the taking was felonlous or by
bailment should clearly appear.
Cbstructing the Execution of Legal
Process--A copy Of the writ which the
officer was engaged in executing when
he was interfered with In the discharge
of his duty, should be attached to the
transcript. This Is imperative, as a
copy of the writ must appear in the in