officer of the court, that is, he ministers or acts for the court in all its executive proceedings. Thus, if the court directs a person to be brought before them, the marshal sees it done by serving the order of the court upon him, and if he will not come voluntarily, compelling by force; for which purpose he can call upon all bystanders, and others for assistance. $691. The general duty of the marshal1 is toattend upon the District and Circuit Courts when sitting, and upon the Supreme Court in the district in which that court shall sit; and to execute all lawful precepts directed to him, and issued under the authority of the United States. The marshal has power to appoint deputies, who are removable from office at the pleasure of the judges of the District and Circuit Courts. For the faithful performance of his duties he is bound, with securities, in a large sum. In all cases where the marshal or his deputy is a party, the writs or precepts are directed to some disinterested person, who has power to execute them. The marshal sometimes has other duties assigned him by law, but his general and proper duty is that of executing the process of the court. § 692. Attorneys at Law are persons supposed to be learned in the law, and as such, are appointed by the courts to practise law, and conduct suits within their jurisdiction. As they are appointed by the courts, they are removable at the pleasure of the courts. They are considered officers of the courts, and amenable to them. The requisites to license a person to practise law in the several states are enacted by statute: in the United States Courts, any one may practise who can practise in the courts of highest judicature in the state where he resides. § 693. A Reporter is likewise an officer of the court. Judiciary Act, Sect. 27. He is some one licensed by the court to report and publish their judicial decisions and opinions. Doubtless, any one can report the proceedings of a court of justice; but they would not have weight or authority unless done under the sanction and inspection of the courts. Reporters are now appointed, by nearly all the courts of highest jurisdiction in the several states. These reports are used as precedence and authorities upon which to decide similar cases. They are constantly cited at the bar, and make up the largest portion of a lawyer's library. A learned judge has said, that "the first and greatest lesson a judge has to learn is to abide by precedents." The reports of decisions in the Supreme Court of the United States have acquired an immense authority, both from its being the tribunal of ultimate resort, and from the learning and ability of its judges. § 694. Of Process. Process is the method taken by the law to compel a compliance with its demands: as such, it comprehends all the written orders of the courts, from the commencement of a suit till its termination by execution of the judgment. § 695. Process is of two kinds; Mesne and Final. Mesne Process is all that process which is issued prior to the judgment, such as writs to bring the parties before the courts, summon juries, witnesses, &c. Final Process is all that process necessary to carry the judgment of the court into execution, as the writ of capias ad satisfaciendum, to take the body for satisfaction, and the writ levari facias to levy on lands. The distinction between mesne and final process being made by the judgment all before that being Mesne, and all after Final Process. § 696. The terms writ and process are in the American practice nearly confounded, but in England the writ means what is called the original, or the writ issued 13 Blackstone's Comm. 269. to commence, or found an action at law. Here a writ is a mandatory letter from the court, directing parties and persons to be brought before it, and things to be done. § 697. By the act of May, 1792,1 all writs and processes issuing from the Supreme or Circuit Court shall bear teste, that is, be signed and issued as of the chief justice; and all writs and process issuing from the District Court, shall bear teste of the judge of such court, which writs and process shall be under the seal of the court, and signed by the clerk thereof. § 698. The forms of writs, and executions, except their style, and that of other process, in suits at Common Law, are the same as are used in the Supreme Court of each state respectively. What these forms and writs arewill be seen under the head of the Practical Operation of the State Judiciary, Book II. chap. II. § 699. 3d. Of the mode in which the decisions of courts are carried into effect. Much of this has already been explained under the head of Process, but the executive part is yet to be explained. §700. The judgments of a court may have two general objects; 1st, to punish for crimes and misdemeanours; or, 2dly, to obtain a debt. § 701. 1st. The punishment of crimes may be either by imprisonment, or death. Both are executed under the order of the court, by the marshal, who confines the prisoners in the place assigned them, or executes them according to the sentence. In each county is erected a public jail, for the purpose of confining prisoners. Almost every state, also, has a Penitentiary, which is a general jail for the state. Contempts against the authority of the court are misdemeanours, and are punishable at the discretion of the court, by fine and imprisonment. § 702. 2d. A judgment, whose object is to obtain a 11 Story's Laws of United States, 257. debt, may be carried into effect in three different modes. 1. By a levy upon goods and chattels. This writ is directed to the proper officer, whether marshal or sheriff, and is immediately levied upon the goods and chattels of the defendant. These goods are then advertised for sale, at a given day, and sold for the benefit of the plaintiff, who, after deducting costs, receives the proceeds to the amount of his debt, and if there is not enough, execution is issued against other property. 2. Another writ is levied upon lands and tenements, which is executed in the same manner by the proper officer, and the lands are then appraised according to the laws of the state in which they lie, and sold at public auction. The process of the United States Courts is the same as that of the state in which the court is held. 3. Another writ is the capias ad satisfaciendum, which is levied upon the body. Under this writ, the marshal or sheriff takes the debtor to jail, and there confines him till the debt is paid, or he is relieved by the insolvent laws of the states. § 703. These are the principal modes in which courts carry their decisions into effect. In the Court of Chancery or Equity, there are also some others peculiar to those courts. For example, a Court of Chancery, having ascertained that a conveyance ought to be made by one party to another, may decree that it be made, and give it the same effect as if it had been done. In general, however, the remedies above mentioned are the principal ones upon which reliance is placed in the punishment of wrongs, or the attainment of rights, BOOK II. CHAPTER II. PRACTICAL OPERATION OF THE STATE GOVERNMENTS. § 704. To understand the difference between the operations of the State and United States Governments, we must remember that the latter has for its objects national concerns,—the former municipal; the latter chiefly external, the former wholly internal affairs. In this difference of objects consists the chief difference of operation. In the mode of operating, there is very little difference. State Governments, like the National, act through the great channels of Legislative, Executive, and Judicial functions. 1. The Legislative functions of State Governments. § 705. We have already seen what powers are held by the state legislatures, in relation to the laws and institutions of the states. Here we must consider principally the mode of their action. The legislatures of the states are organized in the same manner, as the national legislature, and are governed by the same rules of precedence: indeed they are all derived from the rules of the British Parliament, except in cases where the pe |