AN ACT

To amend the act entitled “An act to Simplify

and Abridge the Practice, Pleadings, and Proceedings of the Courts of this State,” passed April 12, 1848.

Passed April 11, 1819. The act entitled "An act to simplify and abridge the practice, pleadings, and proceedings of the courts of this State," passed April 12, 1818, is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

AN ACT To Simplify and Abridge the Practice, Pleadings,

and proceedings of the Courts of this State. WHEREAS, it is expedient, that the present forms of actions

and pleadings in cases at common law should be abolished, that the distinction between legal and equitable remedies should no longer continue, and that an uniform course of proceeding, in all cases, should be established: Therefore,

The People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows :

of an action.

actions in

Definition

Division of SECTION 1. Remedies in the courts of justice are divided remedies.

into,

1. Actions ;

2. Special proceedings. Definition

§ 2. An action is an ordinary proceeding in a court of justice, by which a party prosecutes another party for the enforcement or protection of a right, the redress or pre

vention of a wrong, or the punishment of a public offence. Definition § 3. Every other remedy is a special proceeding. of a special proceeding $ 4. Actions are of two kinds : Division of

1. Civil; to civil and criminal. 2. Criminal.

§ 5. A criminal action is prosecuted by the people of of a criminal action, the state, as a party, against a person charged with a pub

lic offence, for the punishment thereof. Definition of a civil

§ 6. Every other is a civil action. aetion. Civil and § 7. Where the violation of a right admits of both criminal reinedies civil and criminat.féreds the right fi prosecute the one not merged

is not merged in the other, other. Subjects

$ 8. This act is divided into trio parts:

The first relates to the courts if jöstice, and their jurisdiction;

The second relates to civil actions commenced in the courts of this state, after the first day of July, 1848, except when otherwise provided therein, and is distributed into fifteen titles. The first four relate to actions in all the courts of the state, and the others, to actions in the supreme court, in the county courts, in the superior court of the city of New York, in the court of common pleas for the city and county of New York, in the mayors' courts of cities, and in the recorders' courts of cities, and to appeals to the court of appeals, to the supreme court, to the county courts, and to the superior court of the city of New-York.

in each

embraced in tlus act.

PART I.

OF THE COURTS OF JUSTICE, AND THEIR JURIS

DICTION.
TITLE I. OF THE Courts IN GENERAL

II. OF THE Court OF APPEALS.
III. OF THE SUPREME Court; Circuit Courts; AND Courts of

OYER AND TERMINER.
IV. OF THE COUNTY Courts.
V. Of The Superior Court, AND COURT OF Common Pleas

IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, AND THE MAYORS' AND

RECORDERS' COURTS IN OTHER CITIES.
VI. OF THE COURTS OF JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
VII. OF JUSTICES' AND OTHER INFERIOR COURTS IN CITIES.

TITLE I.

of the Courts, in General.

al courts of

SECTION 9. The several courts of this state,

10. Their jurisdiction generally. $ 9. The following are the courts of justice of this state: The sever1. The court for the trial of impeachments.

this Siate. 2. The court of appegts. 3. The supreme colist: 4. The circuit courts. 5. The courts of over and terrainer, 6. The county courts. 7. The courts of sessions. 8. The courts of special sessions. 9. The surrogates' courts. 10. The courts of justices of the peace. 11. The superior court of the city of New-York.

12. The court of common pleas for the city and county of New-York.

13. The mayors' courts of cities.
14. The recorders courts of cities.
15. The marine court of the city of New-York.
16. The justices' courts in the city of New York.
17. The justices' courts of cities.
18. The police courts.

diction

Their juris- $ 10. These courts shall continue to exercise the jurisgenerally. diction now vested in them respectively, except as other

wise prescribed by this act.

TITLE II.

Of the Court of Appeals.

SECTION 11. Its jurisdiction.

12. May reverse, affirm or modify judgment or order appealed

from. 13. Terms of the court. Preference of causes. 14. Number of judges who may give judgment. 15. Sheriff's to provide rooms, &c., for court. 16. Court may be adjourned to places other than those desig

nated by law.

tion.

a

Its jurisdic § 11. The court of appeals shall have exclusive jurisdiction

to review, upon appeal, every actual determination hereafter made at a general term, by the supreme court, or by the superior court of the city of New York, or court of common pleas for the city and county of New York, in the following cases, and no other :

W 1. In a judgmente in an açtion..commenced therein, or brought there from another court cad : upon the appeal from such judgment, to revieasantay intèrgnediatę order involving the merits, and necessarily affecting the judgment :

2, In an order affecting a substantial right, made in such action, when such order in effect determines the action, and prevents a judgment from which an appeal might be taken :

3. In a final order, affecting a substantial right made in a special proceeding, or upon a summary application, in an action, after judgment :

4. In an order granting a new trial, but such an appeal shall not be allowed in an action originally commenced in a court of a justice of the peace, or in the marine court of the city of NewYork, or in an assistant justices' court of that city, or in a justices' court of any of the cities of this state.

$ 12. The court of appeals may reverse, affirm, or modify the judgment or order appealed from, in whole or in

May reverse or inodily julgu.cn

the court.

causes

part, and as to any or all of the parties; and its judgment or order ap

pealed shall be remitted to the court below, to be enforced ac-from cording to law.

§ 13. There shall be four terms of the court of appeals, in terms of each year, to be held at the capitol in the city af Albany, on the first Tuesday of January, the fourth Tuesday of March, the third Tuesday of June, and the third Tuesday of September, and continued for as long a period as the public interests may require.

Additional terms shall be appointed and held at the same Preference place by the court when the public interest requires it. The court may, by general rules, provide what causes shall have a preference on the calendar. § 14. The concurrence of five judges is necessary to pro- Number or

judges wbo nounce a judgment. If five do not concur, the case must be may give

judgmeur. re-heard. But no more than two re-hearings shall be had, and if, on the second re-hearing, five judges do not concur, the judgment shall be affirmed.

$ 15. If at a term of the court of appeals, proper and Sheriffs 10 convenient rooms, both for the consultation of the judges and the holding of the court, with furniture, attendants, fuel, lights and stationery, suitable and sufficient for the transaction of its business, be not provided for it, in the place where by law the court may be held, the court may order the sheriff of the county to make such provision, and the expense incurred by him in carrying the order into effect, shall be a county charge.

$ 16. The court of appeals may be held in other buildings Court may than those designated by law as places for holding courts, and ed to place at a different place in the same city from that at which it is 11:00ades appointed to be held. Any one or more of the judges may ad- luw. jour in the co:r', with the like effect as if all were present.

provide rooms, &c. for court.

be arljourn.

than

by