Civil Government for Common Schools Part 16

A. Each has two branches. In the State they are called a.s.sembly and Senate; in the National government they are called House of Representatives and Senate. The a.s.sembly and House of Representatives each elect their own speaker; the State Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor. The National Senate is presided over by the Vice-President.

Q. What is the number of members in each at the present time?

A. In the a.s.sembly there are one hundred and twenty-eight, in the House of Representatives two hundred and ninety-three, in the State Senate thirty-two, in the National Senate seventy-six.

Q. How do their terms of office compare?

A. The members of the a.s.sembly are elected for one year, of the House of Representatives for two years, of the State Senate for two years, of the National Senate for six years.

JUDICIARY.

Q. In what respect are the State Courts and National Courts similar?

A. Each has a Supreme and Circuit court.

Q. What are the names applied to United States Courts?

A. The Const.i.tution of the United States calls them Inferior Courts, and one Supreme Court.

A TABULAR VIEW OF UNITED STATES COURTS.

I. Inferior 1. District Courts.

2. Circuit Courts.

II. Supreme.

Q. How many District Courts are there at present?

A. Sixty-five; fifty-six of them being in the States, and nine of them in the Territories.

Q. What is the largest number of districts into which any State is divided?

A. Three; Alabama, New York and Tennessee have three districts each; Ark., Fla., Ill., Mich., Miss., Mo., N. C., Ohio, Penn, Texas, Va. and Wis. have two districts each, and the remaining States and Territories one each.

Q. What officers in the District Court?

A. One District Judge, a District Attorney, a.s.sistant District Attorneys, a Marshal, a Clerk, and a large number of Deputy Marshals; and also Registers in Bankruptcy.

Q. What jurisdiction has a District Court?

A. Original jurisdiction.

Q What are the salaries of the District Judges?

A. Four thousand dollars each.

Q. What does the territory of several districts const.i.tute?

A. A Circuit.

Q. How many Circuits are there?

A. Nine, each presided over by a Circuit Judge; and their names are as follows:

1. Circuit consisting of Maine, N. H, Ma.s.s., R. I. John Sowell, Judge.

2. Circuit consisting of Conn., Vt. and N. Y. Samuel J.

Blatchford, Judge.

3. Circuit consisting of Penn., N. J. and Del. Wm. McKennan, Judge.

4. Circuit consisting of N. C., S. C., Md. and Va. Hugh L. Bond, Judge.

5. Circuit consisting of Miss., La., Ala., Fla., Ga. and Texas.

William B. Woods, Judge.

6. Circuit consisting of Ohio, Mich., Ky., Tenn. and W. Va. John Baxter, Judge.

7. Circuit consisting of Ind., Ill. and Wis. Thomas Drummond, Judge.

8. Circuit consisting of Minn, Iowa, Mo., Ark., Kan. and Nebraska.

George W. McCrary, Judge.

9. Circuit consisting of Cal., Oregon, Nevada and Colorado.

Lorenzo Sawyer, Judge.

Q. What jurisdiction has the Circuit Court?

A. Original. Salary of the Judges, $6,000.

SUPREME COURT.

Q. What territory is embraced in the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?

A. The whole of the United States.

Q. How many judges const.i.tute the Supreme Court?

A. Nine; corresponding with the number of the Circuits.

Q. What are the names of the Supreme Judges.

CHIEF JUSTICE.

Morrison R. Waite ... appointed 1874

a.s.sOCIATE JUSTICES.

Nathan Clifford ... appointed 1858 Noah H. Swayne ... appointed 1862 John M. Harlan ... appointed 1877 Samuel F. Miller ... appointed 1862 Stephen J. Field ... appointed 1863 Wiliam Strong ... appointed 1870 Joseph P. Bradley ... appointed 1870 Ward Hunt ... appointed 1872