2. Or, unless such defendant's place of residence is un- Unless place of known to such constable. 3. He shall not be compelled to receive a precept, fee bill, or order for witness attendance, or other claim against any person who is known to be and to reside out of his district, except residence is unknown. Precept against one not known to reside in district may be refused. 1. Such precept is in behalf of the Commonwealth, or is Unless in behalf a precept against property in his district. of the Commonwealth or against property. his responsibility 2. But if a constable shall voluntarily receive such pre- But if received, cept, fee bill, order for witness attendance, or other claim, he and his sureties shall be accountable for the same in like manner as if the person it is against resided or was in his district, or had property therein. of process. § 4. It shall be the duty of the constable to return all Duty as to return process placed in his hands on or before the return day thereof, under the penalty of five dollars, to be recovered on motion before the court whence it issued, upon proper notice. R. S., 255. warrants and at In what district § 5. Every warrant or attachment in a civil case returna ble before a justice, shall be returned in the justices' district within which the defendant resides. I. Unless there are several defendants, and then in the Where if there be district of one of them. tachments to be returned. several defendants. 2. Or, unless the defendant resides out of the county in Or defendant rewhich process is executed. sides out of the county. tices. 3. Or, unless the plaintiff or defendant are of kin to both or if kin to justhe justices in the district. Or written consent. 4. Or, unless with the written consent of the parties. § 6. A constable may exercise the duties of his office in May exercise of any part of the county. § 7. He shall not act on any process in which he is personally interested, under the penalty of ten dollars for each offense. 1. He shall not levy on or sell land, or any interest therein. ARTICLE III. May collect his own fee bills. fice in the entire county. If personally in terested, cannot act, nor levy on or sell land. lected. § 1. A constable may distrain for his own fees, or may How fees of colplace the same in another officer's hands for collection. 1. He may distrain for other officers' fees placed in his May distrain for hands for collection. fees. for. 2. He shall account for officers' fees six months after so When to account placed in his hands. GEN. STAT.-16 Sup., 105. ARTICLE IV. Remedies against, for defalcation. § 1. Any person injured by a breach of a constable's bond may prosecute an action or motion thereon against the constable and his sureties, or any one or more of them, or the personal representative of any one or more of them, jointly, with the survivors, or any of them, for any damages sustained by such person, or for any money collected by him on execution, replevin, or sale bond, order of sale, attachment, distress warrant, order, check, or bill of exchange, note, account, certificate of a witness's claim, or any other evidence of debt or duty, or on any demand or claim, written or verbal, which on proper demand is not paid. (a) § 2. The bond shall not be void on any recovery on it; Right of recovery but recovery may be had on it by every person injured by the acts or omissions of the constable. on bond exhaustless. § 3. Ten days' notice, specifying the grounds of a motion, Notice of motion. shall be given. If not executed on all, the motion may proceed against such as are notified. § 4. In such cases the plaintiff shall recover the amount What recovera- collected by the officer, and interest from the time of demand and ten per centum damages thereon, and the costs of his motion or action. ble on motion. 1 R. S., 256. Remedy for fail fa. § 5. A constable and his sureties, or any one of them, may, by like motion, be rendered liable for the amount of ure to return fi. any execution placed in his hands for collection, and ten per centum on the amount thereof, for not returning such execution to the office from whence it issued, within twenty days after the return day thereof, without reasonable excuse for such failure. Receipt of con stable presump § 6. In actions or motions against a constable and his sureties, or any of them, for money collected by him, his tive evidence of receipt for the demand shall be presumptive evidence, after the expiration of one hundred and twenty days from its date, that such demand has been collected; but such presumption may be rebutted by other evidence. collection after 120 days. bills. § 7. A constable and his surety shall, in like manner, be Liability for fee liable for any fee bill or other claim placed in his hands for collection, which he does not collect, and fails, on demand, to return to the party entitled thereto, with a proper in(a) A demand is indispensable to fix the liability of a constable and his sureties for money collected. (Walters vs. Chism, 1 Metcalfe, 502; Harris vs. Perry, 2 Bush, 101.) dorsement thereon, within six months from the time it is so placed in his hands for collection. lect. 1. Also, for any injury for failing to collect the same, when Liability for negby proper diligence it might have been collected. must state. 2. He shall state, in receipts given by him, the amount What his receipts paid; for each failure to do so, he shall be fined five dollars. 3. For an illegal charge he shall forfeit his fee, and for Penalty for illeeach offense shall be fined five dollars. ARTICLE V. May be ruled to give additional security. gal charge. § 1. The county court may, at any time, rule a constable R. S., 258. to give other or additional sureties. The county court may rule to additional surety. 1. May, on the motion of any of his sureties, rule him to Counter security. give counter security. 2. Ten days' notice, specifying the grounds, must be given Notice. to a constable before a final order shall be made in any such case. 3. If a constable shall not comply with such rule, the court If rule not commay enter up an order vacating his office. plied with, office vacated. ness in his hands if removed or of fice vacated. § 2. A constable who may vacate or be removed from Duty as to busioffice shall return and account for all claims and papers which are officially in his hands, in the same manner as if he had continued in office. ARTICLE VI. Miscellaneous Provisions. Executions, &c., how levied and ority of time." satisfied as to pri § 1. Executions, fee bills, orders of witness's attendance, 1 R. S., 258. and attachments, shall be levied and satisfied by constables, according to the priority of time in which they are placed in their hands; and they shall, in every case, indorse the time of reception. § 2. No constable shall buy, or become interested by contract in, any claim against another put into his hands for collection; and any such purchase or contract may be relied on by a defendant in bar of a suit on such claim, or as a ground for vacating a judgment or quashing an execution thereon. § 3. Constables shall, after the expiration of their term of office, execute and return all processes or precepts in their hands at the termination of their office, and may replevy or collect all executions and fee bills then in their hands. Not to become in terested in claims in his hands. Shall return all process, and may replevy or collect executions & fee bills after term of office expires. § 4. They and their securities shall be liable for all their Liability of sure official acts, and that counter security may be required, as provided in this chapter. ties. § 5. Quarterly courts have jurisdiction concurrent with justices' courts of motions under this chapter, and exclusive of them, of actions and motions where the amount claimed is not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest, damages, and costs. § 6. It shall be no defense to any action or motion against a constable or his sureties that the precept, execution, process, or other authority under which he acted, or it was his duty to act, was stayed or in any manner delayed, unless the same was done in writing, signed by the plaintiff or his agent or attorney. (a) "State "U. S."-what they are construed to include. "Justice" or CHAPTER 21. CONSTRUCTION OF STATUTES. SI. In the construction of statutes the following rules shall be observed, unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the Legislature: (b) The word "State," when applied to a part of the United States, shall be construed to include the several Territories thereof and the District of Columbia. And the words "United States" shall be also construed to include the District and Territories aforesaid. § 2. The word "justice," or "justices," shall be construed "Justices"-how as if the words "of the peace" followed. construed (a) A constable has no right to force open an outer door or window, which is closed and fastened, even though he do not break the lock or catch, in order to make a levy of fieri facias or distress warrant. (Jewell vs. Mills, 3 Bush, 62.) (6) In giving a construction to a statute, courts will look to the effects and consequences. If its provisions are ambiguous, or the legislative intention doubtful, but if the law is clear, explicit, and free of doubt, the consequences, though evil, can be avoided, not by judicial action, but only by the change of the law itself. (Bosley vs. Mattingly, 14 B. M., 90; see also ↑ Met., 624, 637; 3 Met., 116; 4 Met., 21.) 2. The construction given by the courts to the law on a particular subject, as it heretofore existed, should, in like manner, be given to the law on the same subject, as found in the General Statutes, unless it manifestly appear from the phraseology that a change was intended, not in the language merely, but in the sense. (Allen vs. Ramsey's heirs, 1 Met., 637; Brace vs. Shaw, 16 B. M., 80.) 3. If possible, the courts will give that construction to a statute which will be in harmony with the Constitution. (Waller vs. Martin, 17 B. M., 191.) 4. A proviso must always be construed as having relation to the enacting clause or clauses. (Ditto vs. Geoghegan, 1 Met., 173.) lic officers to act. 3. Words purporting to give authority to three or more Majority of pubpublic officers or other persons shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such officers or other persons. 4. The words "personal representatives" shall be con- "Personal representative," execstrued to include the executor or the administrator, or a utor, administrator, &c. sheriff or other officer who is required by law and is ordered by court to act when no person will qualify as executor or administrator. § 5. The words "unsound mind" shall be construed to include every one who is an idiot, lunatic, non compos, or deranged. "Unsound mind" includes all who are non compos. affirmation. § 6. The word "oath" shall be construed to include an "Oath" includes affirmation in all cases in which an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in the like cases, the word "sworn" shall be construed to include the word "affirm." § 7. The word "month" shall be construed to mean a calendar month, and the word "year" a calendar year, and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord." § 8. If a statute requires a notice to be given, or any other act to be done a certain time before any motion or proceeding, there must be that time, exclusive of the day for such motion or proceeding; but the day on which such notice is given, or such act is done, may be counted as one day and part of the time. " "Month means calendar month. means "Year" calendar year & Time-how com puted. If that day hap pen to be Sunday, then the next day from Saturday to § 9. If any proceeding is directed by law to take place, or any act is directed to be done, on a particular day of a month, if that day happen to be Sunday, the proceeding shall take place, or the act shall be done, on the next day. § 10. If the law authorizes a court, or the proceedings of any tribunal or officer, to be adjourned from day to day, an adjournment from Saturday till Monday shall be legal. § 11. "Cattle" includes horse, mule, ass, sheep, hog, or What "Cattle" goat, of any age or sex, bull, cow, calf, and ox; cow includes heifer. 12. A word importing the singular number only, may extend and be applied to several persons or things as well as to one person or thing, and a word importing the plural number only, may extend and be applied to one person or thing as well as to several persons or things. A word importing the masculine gender only may extend and be applied to females as well as males; and the word "person" Adjournment includes. Singular number applies to seve ral Masculine females. gender applies to " "Per son to corpora tions, &c. |