court officers. But quite early the necessity for such officers became
manifest. And several of the offices then established have come down to
us. Some of them, however, have been so modified in the progress of time
as to be hardly recognizable.




CHAPTER III.

PROCEEDINGS IN A JUSTICE COURT.


I. IN ORDINARY CIVIL ACTIONS.

Definitions.--A _Civil Action_ is one having for its object the protection
or enforcement of a private right or the securing of compensation for an
infraction thereof. For instance a suit brought to secure possession of a
horse, or to secure damages for a trespass is a civil action. The person
bringing the action is called the _plaintiff_; the one against whom it is
brought, the _defendant_. The plaintiff and the defendant are called the
_parties_ to the action.

_Jurisdiction._--A justice of the peace has jurisdiction within the county
in most civil actions when the amount in controversy does not exceed a
certain sum, usually one hundred dollars. (See p. 296.)


PRELIMINARY TO TRIAL.