JUDGMENT

a decision and determination in law of a court in an action. The Judgment may be either final or interlocutory. If interlocutory, it is given on only some special point preceding, and it does not complete the action. A final Judgment can only be altered by _ an appeal to a higher court. * JUDGMENT, THE LAST. Christ fan eschatology deals in a particularly clear manner with a final resurrection, and the doctrine of the resurrection of the body finds a place in the creed of the ‘Christian Church. This is closely connected with the article of the L. J. The Nicene Creed says that Christ ‘shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead.’ This belief is founded upon: (1) Many parables of Curist recorded in the Gospels, such as those of the wedding-feast of the king’s son, the ten virgins, the talents, and the sheep and goats. (2) Other statements of our Lord, such as that contained in John v. 28, 29. (38) The clear words of St. Paul (2 Cor. v. 10), ‘we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that which he hath done, whether it be good or bad.’ (4) The account given in the apocalypse of St. John (Rev. xx. 12 ff.), Briefly, the general Christian idea of the L. J. is that when the end of the world comes, those who have died before that time, will rise again with their own bodies, though these will be spiritualised as was Christ’s body after His Resurrection. Then all, both living and dead, will be judged by Christ. The judgment is not to be considered as arbitrary but as perfectly just and in accord with Christ’s work as Saviour—‘out of thine own mouth will I judge thee.’ judiciary system, as established the Constitution, is composed of the Supreme Court, which functions as the highest tribunal, and le er courts whose distribution and operation are determined by Congre . The Supreme Court has nine members, including a Chief Justice, who receives $15,000 a year; the others, k nown as a ociate judges, receive $14,- 500. The tribunals inferior to this august body, which reviews their dectsions when appealable, are the Circuit Courts of Appeal, the Circuit Courts, and the District Courts. The jurisdiction of the federal courts is very sweeping and is laid down by the Constitution. There are also other federal judicial bodies, namely the Court of Claims, which provides a channel for suits against the government, the Court of Customs Appeal, whose title explains its functions, and the courts of the District of Columbia. For the purpose of dispensing justice under the federal constitution, the United States and its territories are divided into nine judicial circuits or districts, each of which has a Circuit Court, with subdivisions in which sit numerous District Courts, the lowest federal tribunals. The Circuit Court cof Appeals, established in 1911 to relieve the Supreme Courts of many cases that would otherwise congest the calendar, is composed cf one Supreme Court justice a igned to each Circuit Court and a bench of Circuit and District judges of each judiciary district. The Circuit Courts, which formerly exercised the appelate jurisdiction now vested in the Circuit Courts of Appeal, have three or more judges, who receive $8,500 a year, and hear cases appealed from the District Courts. The latter courts exceeded one hundred in 1923. Each is presided over by a District Judge, who receives $7,500 a year. In each federal judicial district is also a United States Attorney, who prosecutes violations of federal statutes, and each has a United States marshal who carries out the will of the Court. All federal judges are appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate. The nine districts in which the Iederal, Circuit and District Courts function are ee ar a a eel nt a called Judicial Circuits and are as follows: First Judicial Circuit, Maine, Ma achusetts, Rhode Island and Porto Rico; Second, Connecticut, New York, Vermont; Third, Delaware, New Jersey, | Pennsylvania; Fourth, Maryland, North, Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West | Virginia; Fifth, Alabama, Florida, Geor-! Gone; Sixth, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio | Wisconsin: Eighth, Arkansas, Colorado, 'Yowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mi ouri, | Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, ing; Ninth, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, The States have a similar judiciary | system, but there is no definable uniform_ ity in the procedure and practice of their various courts, and the different names ‘the courts bear also confuse the uninitiated as to their jurisdiction. Generally, there is a supreme court or court of ‘ appeals, a superior court, county and municipal courts and magistrates or justices of the peace. The highest tribunal (supreme court or court of ap-. peals) functions in State litigation as the U. §. Supreme Court does in federal suits. In some States the higher court, in addition to exercising final judgment, has original jurisdiction, as in Ma achusetts, where the Supreme Court can hear actions at their start before one of its justices, appeal being taken from his judgment to the full court. In several. States there are tribunals called supreme courts that are not supreme, there being courts of last resort above them. New York has such a Supreme Court, composed of 107 judges (1923), who, like the federal Circuit judges, are divided into groups and form courts tuat sit in designated judicial districts. Each justice can hold court in any county within his a igned district. Judges of the N. Y. Supreme Court, as named by the Governor, also constitute four courts of appeal, called the appelate divisions, whose decisions may be taken to the final Court of Appeals. Below the so-called supreme courts come so-called superior courts (in some states differently named) which hear appeals from lower courts in @ group of counties over which they have jurisdiction. The county courts, which also have varied names, exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction (in some States they function also aS surrogate’s courts in probating wills) and hear appeals from decisions of justices of the peace. These latter preside over petty or primary courts for pa ing upon minor offenses or Commit cases for a grand jury’s action. In the large cities the functions of justice of the peace have developed into many LS courts with an extensive municipal magistracy usually appointed by the mayor. Most of the State judges are chosen by popular vote.