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Oath endors.

ed on bond.

Neglect

deemed re

fusal.

Duties.

To appoint

deputy.

organized counties of this territory, shall have the power, whenever in their opinion the public interests require it, to compel the sheriff to give additional security, not exceeding in the whole the sum of ten thousand dollars. And the said bonds shall be filed in the clerk's office of the counties respectively for which such sheriff shall be appointed; and the said clerks respectively shall, at the time of filing such bonds, administer an oath to each of the sureties named therein, that he is a freeholder within this territory, and worth the sum of two thousand dollars over and above all debts, which oath shall be endorsed on the said bonds and subscribed by the sureties respectively in the presence of the clerk.

3. In case the said sureties shall have justified before a supreme court commissioner, then the oath shall be endorsed on the bond and subscribed in the same manner as above specified.

$4. In case any person receiving the appointment of sheriff shall neglect to enter into bond with sureties as aforesaid, for the space of twenty days after notice shall be given to him of his appointment, every such person shall be deemed to have refused to accept the said office, and it shall be the duty of the clerk of the county in which such neglect shall happen, forthwith after the expiration of said twenty days, to give notice thereof by letter to the person administering the government of this territory.

$5. It shall be lawful for every sheriff who shall be appointed and commissioned and take upon himself the office, to continue in and execute all the duties of said office until a new sheriff shall be appointed and commissioned in his place, and properly qualified.

6. The sheriff of each county in this territory shall, as soon as may be after he has taken upon himself the office, by writing under his hand and seal, make some proper person under sheriff of the same county, who shall also be his deputy during the pleasure of the said sheriff; and as often as such under sheriff shall die or be removed from his office, or remove out of the county, or from any cause be incapable of executing the duties of his office, another shall be appointed in his place in the manner aforesaid, and every such appointment shall be recorded in the office of the clerk of the proper county; and in case of the death or absence of the sheriff of any county, the under sheriff of the same county shall in all things execute the office of sheriff of such county in the name of the deceased or absent sheriff, until the sheriff shall return, or another shall be appointed, commissioned and qualified to discharge the duties of the office; and the default and misfeasances in office of such under sheriff in the meantime, as well as before, shall be adjudged a breach of the condition of the bond and security given by the sheriff who appointed him, and the executors and administrators of the deceased sheriff shall have the like remedy for the default and misfeasances in office of such under sheriff, happening during such interval, as such sheriff would be entitled to, if he had lived and continued in the exercise of his office, until his successor was appointed and commissioned, and had taken upCoroner to on himself the said office; and in case there shall be no such under sheriff of any county at the time of the death of the sheriff of such county, or if such under sheriff shall die or remove out of the county, or become incapable of executing the office before another sheriff of the same county shall be appointed, commissoned and duly qualified, then

act.

and in every such case the coronor of such county shall in all things execute the office of sheriff of the same county until a sheriff thereof shall be appointed, commissioned and qualified.

S7. Every sheriff may appoint such and so many deputies as he Deputies. may think proper, for whose official acts he shall be responsible, and the default and misfeasances in office of such deputies, shall be adjudged a breach of the condition and security given by the sheriff. The appointment of deputies shall be made in the same manner and filed at the same place as the appointment of the under sheriff. Such deputies shall take an oath for the faithful discharge of their duties. But no person who may be deputed by the sheriff, to do a particular act only, shall be required to take the above oath.

coroners.

$8. Whenever any under sheriff, coroner or other person, shall Liabilities of execute the office of sheriff, the person so executing such office shall be subject to all the liabilities and penalties imposed by law on a sheriff duly appointed and qualified.

9. Every sheriff shall have the custody of the jails and prisons Custody of in his county and the prisoners in the same, and shall appoint keep- prisoners. ers thereof, for whose conduct he shall be responsible.

preserve the

tificate in

ses.

S 10. It shall be the duty of the sheriffs to keep and preserve the Sheriffs to peace in their respective counties, and it shall also be their duty to peace, &c. quiet and suppress all affrays, routs, riots, unlawful assemblies and insurrections, for which purpose they are empowered to call to their aid such persons or power of their respective counties as they may deem necessary; they shall also pursue and apprehend all felons, they shall execute all warrants, writs and other process, which may by law appertain to the duties of their office, including all warrants, writs and other process from a justice of the peace, which shall be directed to them by legal authority, and they shall attend upon the district court held within their respective counties during their session. S11. Every sheriff or any other officer to whom any writ or other To give cerprocess shall be delivered in the county where it is to be executed, certain ca shall, if required by the persons delivering the same, give to such person a certificate under his hand, without taking any thing therefor, wherein the names of the parties and the day of delivering the writ or other process shall be mentioned; and when any writ or other process shall be returned, the sheriff or other officer who shall make the return, shall put his own name to the return of the same; and Liability for if any sheriff or other officer, shall not make due return to any writ neglect. or other process delivered to him to be executed, he shall not only be liable to atachment or amercement at the discretion of the court where such writ or other process shall be returnable, but also to an action on the case to the party aggrieved, and such sheriff or other officer shall be in like manner responsible if, when commanded to answer of the issues of any lands or chattels, he returns less than he might or ought to have returned, and shall, upon motion in open court by the party aggrieved or his attorney, be amerced in the amount collected, or which ought to have been collected, either upon the said issues or upon any writ, together with the per centum thereon, to the use of the said party.

$12. When the sheriff or any of his deputies shall find that resis- When retance will be made against the service of any process, the sheriff, lay-sisted. ing aside all other things and taking with him the power of the coun

Duty when person in custody.

Duty of jailer.

Sheriffs debarred holding

ty, shall forthwith go in his proper person and cause the process to be served, and if he find resistance he shall certify to the court the names of the persons so resisting, aiding or favoring such resistance. S 13. If any sheriff or other officer shall have in his custody any person, by virtue of any process or warrant whatsoever, it shall not be lawful for such officer to carry the said person to any tavern without the voluntary consent of said person, so as to charge such prisoner with any sum of money for any drink, victuals, or other things whatsoever, but what the said person shall call for of his own accord; and such officers shall not directly or indirectly demand, take or receive, any other or greater sum, than what by law ought to be taken for such arrest, taking or awaiting until such person shall have procured an appearance, found bail, agreed with his adversary, or be sent to jail; and any sheriff or other officer or person having the custody of a prisoner arrested on civil process, shall permit him at his own will, to send for and have any small beer, victuals, or any other articles of comfort, except ale, wine or ardent spirits, when and from whom any such person pleases, and to have and use such bedding, linen and other furniture as such prisoner shall think fit, without any detaining or paying for the same, and shall not demand, take or receive of such prisoner any other or greater fees for his commitment, release or discharge, than shall be allowed by law, nor any thing whatsoever for the chamber rest of such prisoner.

S14. Every jailer upon whom any declaration, notice, or any other proceeding directed to any prisoner in his custody shall be served, shall within five days thereafter, deliver the same to the defendant, with a note of the time of service thereof, upon such jailer, and if any jailer shall neglect to deliver the declaration as aforesaid, he shall be answerable to such defendant for all damages occasioned by such neglect.

S15. Sheriffs can hold no other civil office, except marshal or deputy-marshal, and they and their deputies are not allowed to pracother office. tice in any court of which they are officers, as attorneys, solicitors or counsellors.

May pass

through

ties.

S16. Any sheriff or other officer who shall have arrested any other coun- prisoner in any county, may pass over, across and through, such parts of any other county or counties, as shall be in the ordinary route of travel from the place where such prisoner shall have been arrested, to the place where he is to be conveyed and delivered, according to the command of the process by which such arrest shall have been made. 17. Such conveyance shall not in any case be deemed an escape, nor shall the prisoner so conveyed, or the officers having him in their custody, be liable to arrest on any civil process while passing through such other county or counties.

Conveyance not deemed escape.

Duty of] jailer.

Sheriff not

to take bonds.

18. It shall be the duty of the keeper of every jail to present tɔ every district court held in his county, at the opening of such court, a calendar, stating,

1st. The name of every prisoner then detained in prison.

2d. The time when such prisoner was committed, and by virtue of what process or precept; and

3d. The cause of the detention of every such person.

$ 19. No sheriff or other officer shall take any bonds, obligation or security, by color of his office, in any other case or manner, than such

as are provided by law, and any such bond, obligation or security, taken otherwise than as herein directed, shall be void.

fees forbid

$20. No sheriff, by color of his office, shall directly or indirectly Unlawful ask, demand or receive, for any services or acts to be by him per-den. formed, in pursuance of any duty of his office, any greater or more fees than are allowed by law, on pain of forfeiting for every such offence, to the party aggrieved, his treble damages, to be recovered with costs of suit; and also the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, the one moiety thereof to this territory, and the other moiety to the party who shall sue for the same, to be recovered with costs of suit in any court of record having cognizance thereof, by action of debt.

AN ACT concerning coroners and constables.

how elected,

$1. That there shall be elected in each of the organized counties Coroners, in this territory, a coroner, whose term of service shall be for two years, and whose duty it shall be to execute all process in their respective counties, in all cases when just exception can be taken to the sheriff or his deputy, or when there is no sheriff, and in all cases upon affidavits being made and filed in any court of record in this territory, of the partiality, prejudice, consanguinity or interest, of the sheriff, or of the deputy of the sheriff of any county, when suit is about to be brought, or shall have been commenced, it shall be the duty of the clerk to issue and direct original or other process in the suit, to the coroner, who shall execute the same, and attend to the same Duty. throughout, in the same manner as the sheriff could or ought to have done; and hereafter the partiality, prejudice, consanguinity or interest, of the sheriff, or deputy-sheriff, shall not be cause for a change of venue, but the coroner shall perform the duties above described; or if there should be no coroner, some proper person to be appointed by the clerk, shall supply the place of the sheriff in like manner as the coroner is hereby required to do: Provided, That when the coroner is required to discharge the duty of sheriff, he shall execute such bond and security as the clerk may require.

inquests.

$2. That coroners shall take inquest upon the view of the dead To take bodies of such persons only as shall be supposed to have come to their death by violence, and not when the death is believed to have been, and was evidently, occasioned by casualty.

S3. That as soon as any coroner shall have notice of the dead To summon body of any person supposed to have come to his death by violence, jury. found or lying within his county, he shall make his warrant to the constable of the town where such dead body is, or of one of the adjoining towns in the same county, requiring such constable forthwith to summon six good lawful men of the county, to appear before such coroner, at the time and place expressed in such warrant; and the warrant may be issued with or without a seal, and in substance as follows:

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To either of the constables of
greeting:

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In the name of the United States of America, you are hereby

Duty of constable.

Jurors to

appear.

Jurors, how impannelled

Oath.

Witnesses, how sum.

required immediately to summons six good and lawful men of the to appear before me, one of the coroners

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there lying dead, how

day of

and by what means he came to his death. Hereof fail not.
Given under my hand, the

in the year of

Coroner.

S4. That the constable to whom such warrant shall be directed and delivered, shall forth with execute the same, and shall at the time mentioned in the warrant, repair to the place where the dead body is, and make return thereof to the coroner, and of his doing thereon under his hand; and any constable who shall unnecessarily neglect, or fail to execute, or return, such warrant, shall forfeit the sum of ten dollars; and if any person summoned as a juror shall fail to appear, without a reasonable excuse therefor, he shall forfeit the sum of five dollars; which forfeiture may be recovered to the use of the county, with costs of suit, by action of debt, or on the case, to be brought by the coroner.

$5. That when the jurors who have been summoned appear, the coroner shall call over their names, and then in view of the body, he shall administer to them the following oath:

"You solemnly swear that you will diligently inquire, and true presentment make, on behalf of the United States of America, when and how, and by what means, the person whose body lies here dead. came to his death; and you shall return a true inquest thereof according to your knowledge, and such evidence as shall be laid before you, so help you God."

If the six jurors shall not all appear, the coroner may require the constable, or any other person whom he shall appoint, to return jurors from the by-standers to complete that number.

$6. The coroner may issue subpoenas for witinesses, returnable moned, &c. forthwith, or at such time and place as he shall therein direct. The persons served with such subpoenas shall be allowed the same fees, and their attendance may be enforced in the same manner by the coroner, and they shall be subject to the same penalties, as if they had been served with a subpoena, in behalf of the United States of America, to attend a justice's court.

Oath.

Testimony

Inquisition.

$ 7. That an oath to the following effect shall be administered to the witnesses, by the coroner. "You solemnly swear that the evidence you shall give to this inquest, concerning the death of the person here lying dead, shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God."

$8. That the testimony of all witnesses examined before any inquest, shall be reduced to writing by the coroner, or some other person by his direction, and subscribed by the witnesses, respectively, giving it in.

$9. That the jury, upon the inspection of the dead body, and after hearing the testimony and making all needful inquiries, shall draw up and deliver to the coroner their inquisition, under their hands, in which they shall find and certify, when, how and by what means the deceased

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