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Show Ignorance About Court. - There is a surprising popnlar lack of information on the subject of the powers pow-ers and functions of courts. It would be amusing in any ordinary company to get the ideas of most of those present on tho distinctions between the courts ol the United States, the state, the county and the municipality, the limitations of the civil and criminal cojirts, and the powers of police magistrates. It is a common thing for people to express suf-prise suf-prise that on such brief trials police magistrates should be able to commit people to prison for months. The fact is that police magistrates have no such power, although the form of expression used in police reports, "He got six mouths," wight well lead to such a belief. be-lief. Tho fact is that the sentence of imprisonment in such cases is alternative alterna-tive with the giving of bail for good behavior. be-havior. It is a common thing for people peo-ple who ought to know better to sit all day in a police court, only to find at the close that tho remedy they seek could only be had in a civil court. New York Sun. |