TITLE 1. TITLE I. Courts. Courts of The courts of the State; their general powers and attributes, ARTICLE 1. Enumeration and classification. 2. General powers and attributes of the courts. 3. Miscellaneous provisions relating to the sittings of the courts. 2. Courts of record enumerated. 3. Courts not of record. 4. General provision as to jurisdiction, etc. § 1. The courts referred to in this act, are enumerated 1. The court for the trial of impeachments. 4. A circuit court in each county. 5. A court of oyer and terminer in each county. 6. The court of common pleas for the city and county 7. The superior court of the city of New-York. 8. The court of general sessions of the peace in and for the city and county of New-York. 9. The superior court of Buffalo. 10. The city court of Brooklyn. 11. The city court of Long-Island City. 12. The city court of Yonkers. 13. A county court in each county, except New-York. 14. A court of sessions in each county, except New-York. 17. The recorder's court of the city of Utica. ART. 2. § 3. Each of the following courts of the State is a court Courts 1. Courts of justices of the peace in each town, and in 2. Courts of special sessions of the peace in each town, and in certain cities and villages. 3. The district courts in the city of New-York. 4. The police courts in certain cities and villages. 4. Each of those courts shall continue to exercise the General jurisdiction and powers now vested in it by law, according as to ju- to the course and practice of the court, except as otherwise etc. SEC. 5. The sittings of courts to be public. 6. Courts not to sit on Sunday, except in special cases. 7. General powers of courts of record. 8. Criminal contempts defined. 9. Punishment for criminal contempts. 10. Such contempts in view of court; how punished, etc. 12. Preceding sections limited. 13. Indictment, if offence is indictable. 14. Contempts punishable civilly. 15. No punishment for non-payment of interlocutory costs. TITLE 1. The sittings of SEC. 22. Writs, etc., in name of the people, and in English; abbreviations. 23. Id.; teste and return. 24. Id.; to be subscribed or indorsed. When error, etc., not to vitiate. 25. No discontinuance by reason of vacancy, etc. 26. In New-York, one judge may continue proceedings commenced before another. 27. Provisions respecting the seals of courts. 28. Seals of counties. 29. What is a sufficient sealing. 30. New seals. § 5. The sittings of a court are public, and any citizen courts to may freely attend the same. be public. Courts not to sit on Sunday, except in special cases. General powers of courts of record. Criminal con tempts defined. § 6. A court shall not be opened, or transact any busi ness on Sunday, except to receive a verdict or discharge a jury. An adjournment of a court on Saturday, unless made after a cause has been committed to a jury, must be to some other day than Sunday. But this section does not prevent the exercise of the jurisdiction of a magistrate, where it is necessary to preserve the peace, or, in a criminal case, to arrest, commit or discharge a person charged with an offence. § 7. A court of record has power: 1. To issue a subpoena, requiring the attendance of a person found in the State, to testify in a cause pending in that court; subject, however, to the limitations, prescribed by law, with respect to the portion of the State, in which the process of a local court of record may be served. 2. To administer an oath to a witness, in the exercise of the powers and duties of the court. 3. To devise and make new process and forms of proceedings, necessary to carry into effect the powers and ju risdiction possessed by it. § 8. A court of record has power to punish for a criminal contempt, a person guilty of either of the following acts, and no others: 1. Disorderly, contemptuous, or insolent behavior, committed during its sitting, in its immediate view and pres ence, and directly tending to interrupt its proceedings, or to impair the respect due to its authority. 2. Breach of the peace, noise, or other disturbance, directly tending to interrupt its proceedings. 3. Wilful disobedience to its lawful mandate. 4. Resistance wilfully offered to its lawful mandate. 5. Contumacious and unlawful refusal to be sworn as a witness; or, after being sworn, to answer any legal and proper interrogatory. 6. Publication of a false, or grossly inaccurate report of its proceedings. But a court cannot punish as a contempt, the publication of a true, full, and fair report of a trial, argument, decision, or other proceeding therein. ART. 2. ment for con § 9. Punishment for a contempt, specified in the last sec- Punishtion, may be by fine, not exceeding two hundred and fifty criminal dollars, or by imprisonment, not exceeding thirty days, in tempts. the jail of the county where the court is sitting, or both, in the discretion of the court. Where a person is committed to jail, for the non-payment of such a fine, he must be discharged at the expiration of thirty days; but where he is also committed for a definite time, the thirty days must be computed from the expiration of the definite time. tempts in court; § 10. Such a contempt, committed in the immediate view Such conand presence of the court, may be punished summarily; view of when not so committed, the party charged must be notified how punof the accusation, and have a reasonable time to make a etc. defence. ished, ites of § 11. Where a person is committed for such a contempt, Requis the particular circumstances of his offence must be set forth commitin the mandate of commitment. ment. ing sec 12. The last four sections do not extend to a special Precedproceeding to punish a person, in a case specified in section tions 14 of this act. limited. TITLE 1. Indict ment, if § 13. Punishment for a contempt, as prescribed in this article, does not bar an indictment for the same offence; offence is but where a person who has been so punished is convicted ble. on such an indictment, the court, in sentencing him, must take into consideration the previous punishment. indicta Con tempts able civilly. § 14. A court of record has power to punish, by fine and punish imprisonment, or either, a neglect or violation of duty, or other misconduct, by which a right or remedy of a party to a civil action or special proceeding, pending in the court, may be defeated, impaired, impeded, or prejudiced, in either of the following cases: 1. An attorney, counsellor, clerk, sheriff, coroner, or other person, in any manner duly selected or appointed to perform a judicial or ministerial service, for a misbehavior in his office or trust, or for a wilful neglect or violation of duty therein; or for disobedience to a lawful mandate of the court, or of a judge thereof, or of an officer authorized to perform the duties of such a judge. 2. A party to the action or special proceeding, for putting in fictitious bail or a fictitious surety, or for any deceit or abuse of a mandate or proceeding of the court. 3. A party to the action or special proceeding, an attor ney, counsellor, or other person, for the non-payment of a sum of money ordered or adjudged by the court to be paid, in a case where by law execution cannot be awarded for the collection of such sum; or for any other disobedience to a lawful mandate of the court. 4. A person, for assuming to be an attorney or counsellor, or other officer of the court, and acting as such without authority; for rescuing any property or person in the custody of an officer, by virtue of a mandate of the court; for unlawfully detaining, or fraudulently and wilfully preventing, or disabling from attending or testifying, a witness, or a party to the action or special proceeding, while going to, remaining at, or returning from, the sitting where it is noticed for trial or hearing; and for any other unlawful interference with the proceedings therein. |