§5. Although justices of the peace are generally elected in the towns,
their jurisdiction extends over the county; that is, they have power to
try causes arising in any part of the county, or between citizens
residing in other towns. The jurisdiction of justices of the peace is
generally prescribed by law. The law prescribes the sum that may be sued
for, or the amount of damage that may be recovered in a justice's court,
and the grade of offenses that may be tried in it. In some states
justices of the peace may try suits only in which the sum in controversy
does not exceed $50; but in most of them, the jurisdiction of a justice
extends, it is believed, to sums of $100 or more.

§6. Causes, in which money is claimed for damage or for debt, are called
_civil_ causes; those for the trial of persons charged with crime, or
some misdemeanor, are called _criminal_ causes. All crimes, strictly
speaking, are misdemeanors. In common usage, however, the word
_misdemeanor_ denotes a smaller offense, such as is usually punishable
by fine, or by imprisonment in a county jail, and not in a state prison.
Causes, actions, and suits, are words of similar meaning in law
language, being generally used to signify prosecutions at law, or
lawsuits. The party that sues is called _plaintiff_; the party sued is
the _defendant_.

§7. Prosecutions at law are conducted in nearly the same manner in the
different states. The following is a sketch of the proceedings in an
ordinary civil suit in a justice's court: The justice, at the request of
the plaintiff, issues a _summons_, which is a writ or precept addressed
to a constable of the town, in some states to any constable of the
county, commanding him to summon the defendant to appear before the
justice on a day and at an hour specified, to answer the plaintiff
(naming him) in a suit, the nature of which is stated in the summons.