1947 session laws – Ch.1095 Sec.1

That Chapter 162 of the Private Laws of 1929, the same being An Act to Enlarge the Jurisdiction of the Mayor of Franklinton, is hereby rewritten so that the same shall hereafter read as follows: SrcTION 1 That the Mayor of the Town of Franklinton, as a court, shall have the following jurisdiction within the following named territory: 1 Original and concurrent jurisdiction, as the case may be, of all offenses committed within the corporate limits of the Town of Franklinton which are now or may hereafter be given to justices of the peace under the Constitution and general laws of the State, including all offenses which the mayor, as a court, now has jurisdiction. 2 Original and concurrent jurisdiction with justices of the peace of all offenses committed outside the corporate limits of the Town of Franklinton and within a radius of one mile thereof, which is now or may hereafter be given to justices of the peace under the Constitution and general laws of the State. 3 Original jurisdiction of all other criminal offenses committed within the corporate limits of the Town of Franklinton and outside, but within a radius of one mile thereof, which are below the grade of a felony as now defined by law, and the same are hereby declared to be petty misdemeanors. 4 Concurrent jurisdiction with justices of the peace to hear and bind over to the Superior Court all persons charged with any crime committed within the territory above mentioned, of which the mayor, as a court, is not herein given final jurisdiction. 5 All jurisdiction given by the general laws of the State to justices of the peace, or to the Superior Court, to punish for contempt, to issue writs ad testificandum, and other process to require the attendance of witnesses and to enforce the orders and judgments of the mayor. 6 In all cases heard by the Mayor of the Town of Franklinton against any person for any offense whereof the mayor has not final jurisdiction and in which probable cause of guilt is found, such person shall be bound in a bond or recognizance with sufficient surety to appear at the next succeeding term of the Superior Court of the county for the trial of criminal cases, and in default of such bond or recognizance he shall be committed to the common jail of the county to await trial; but in all capital cases such person shall be committed to the common jail of the county without bail. 7 All persons pleading guilty or convicted in the court of the Mayor of the Town of Franklinton of any offense of which the mayor has final jurisdiction shall be fined or imprisoned, according to law, and any person entering a plea of guilty, or who may be convicted of any such offense, shall also pay the costs of the prosecution. When any person is convicted, or pleads guilty, of any offense of which the Mayor of the Town of Franklinton has final jurisdiction, the mayor may sentence him to the common jail of the County of Franklin and to be assigned to work under the State Highway and Public Works Commission as provided by Section 148-30 of the General Statutes or he may be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 148-32 of the General Statutes or if the prisoner is a woman or an infant, the Mayor of the Town of Franklinton may sentence such person to any State reformatory, training school or other correctional institution as now provided by law. That all persons sentenced to imprisonment by the mayor shall be turned over to the Sheriff of Franklin County for such disposition as may be provided in the judgment of the court or held in prison by said sheriff under the same laws governing the imprisonment of persens convicted in the County Recorders Court or in the Superior Court of said county. Any person convicted of any offense of which the Mayor of the Town of Franklinton has final jurisdiction may appeal to the Superior Court of the county from any judgment or sentence of the mayor in the same manner as is now provided for appeals from the courts of justices of the peace. Upon such appeal, the defendant shall be required to give bond or recognizance with sufficient surety for his appearance at the next term of the Superior Court; and in default thereof, the mayor shall commit him to the common jail of the County of Franklin until he shall give bond or be otherwise discharged by law. 8 The Mayor of the Town of Franklinton may issue process to the Chief of Police of the Town of Franklinton who is authorized to serve such process within the jurisdictional limits herein provided or such process may be issued to the Sheriff, Constable or other lawful officer of Franklin County. 9 The clerk of the governing body of the Town of Franklinton shall ex-officio discharge the duties of the clerk of the mayors court, and it shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Mayors Court of the Town of Franklinton to keep an accurate and TRUE record of all costs, fines and punishments by the mayor imposed, and the record should show the name, the offender, the nature of the offense, the date of the hearing of the trial, punishment imposed and such other information as the governing body of the Town of Franklinton may prescribe, including such dockets, files and other records necessary for the business of the mayors court. 10 The Mayor of the Town of Franklinton, as a court, shall have the same authority to grant continuances, take bonds and recognizances and render judgments on forefeited bonds and recognizances as is now vested by law in the Superior Courts, and the procedure regulating the issuance and service of notices against defendants and their sureties upon bonds and recognizances, and all other proceedings in taking and enforcing judgments in such cases shall be the same as in Superior Courts in like cases. Transcripts of any judgments rendered may be docketed in the Superior Court of the county in which such court is held in the same manner and with the same effect as judgments of other courts decketed as provided by daw. Sec. 2 The governing authority of the Town of Franklinton shall appoint a solicitor or prosecuting attorney for the mayors court herein provided who shall appear for the prosecution in all cases therein and for his services he shall be paid a sum not to exceed six hundred dollars ($600.00) per year to be fixed by the governing authority of the Town of Franklinton. In each case tried by the Mayor of the Town of Franklinton, there shall be taxed in the bill of costs against each defendant a solicitors fee in the amount of four dollars ($4.00) except that such solicitors fee shall not be taxed in any bill of costs against any defendant where the case is for an offense within the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace. The Solicitor of the Mayors Court of the Town of Franklinton shall serve during the pleasure of the governing authority of the Town of Franklinton and may at any time be dismissed by said governing authority. Sec. 3 That the costs to be taxed in criminal cases in the said Mayors Court of the Town of Franklinton shall be the same as that provided by law in the County Recorders Court of said Franklin County with the exception that in all cases dealing with offenses within the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace the costs shall be the same as that now taxed by justices of the peace in Franklin County. The mayor shall have full power in any case in which he shall adjudge that the prosecution was not required by the public interest to tax the prosecutor with the cost of such action; and in the event the mayor shall adjudge that the prosecution is frivolous or malicious, he shall imprison the prosecutor for the nonpayment of such costs as provided by law for similar cases in other courts. When the costs are paid, they shall belong to the Town of Franklinton and be paid into the general fund of said town. Sec. 4 All costs incurred in issuing warrants and serving the same where the mayor does not have final jurisdiction, and for the service of process arising in such cases when the process is served by an officer of the Town of Franklinton shall be paid to the municipality. Where such officer is not an officer of the Town of Franklinton, such costs shall be dealt with as now provided by law. Sec. 5 That the mayor of the Town of Franklinton shall receive a salary for the services in the sum of not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) per month, in the discretion of the commissioners or governing authority of said town, payable monthly out of the general funds of the Town of Franklinton. If either the solicitor or the accused shall ask for it, the mayor shall allow a trial by jury. The jurors shall be summoned from Franklinton Township and the clerk of the board of commissioners shall furnish to the mayor on demand a list of the jurors for Franklinton Township. The governing authority of the Town of Franklinton is authorized and empowered to fix, in its discretion, the amount of fees and mileage that shall be paid the jurors attending pursuant to summons, including those who attend but do not actually serve as well as those who do serve. That except as herein above provided, the mayor shall try the same as is now provided in actions before justices of the peace wherein a jury is demanded, and the same procedure as is now provided by law for jury trials before justices of the peace shall apply, including Article 20 of Chapter 7 of the General Statutes.