Reeves v. Clarke
Supreme Court of Arkansas
This was an appeal from a justice of the peace, determined in the Carroll Circuit Court, in October, 1841, before the Hon. Joseph M. Hoge, one of the circuit judges. Reeves sued Clarke, before a justice of the peace. By the summons, the defendant was required “ to answer the complaint of John Reeves, in a plea of' damages.”
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This was an appeal from a justice of the peace, determined in the Carroll Circuit Court, in October, 1841, before the Hon. Joseph M. Hoge, one of the circuit judges. Reeves sued Clarke, before a justice of the peace. By the summons, the defendant was required “ to answer the complaint of John Reeves, in a plea of' damages.” It is stated, in the transcript of the record, that, on the 5th day of February, 1841, the return day of the summons, “ both parties appeared, ready for trial.” And it also appears, that the justice made the following entry, on his docket: “Judgment against defendant, $>6…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court,
Ringo, C. J.
Several errors have been assigned, but the one most relied upon by the plaintiff, asserts that the case, as shown by the record, was not within the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace.
It has been settled, by the adjudications of this Court, that the jurisdiction of the justices of the peace, in this State, in civil cases, is expressly restricted and limited by the constitution, to matters of con-, tract; and it cannot be extended to any other subject matter while the constitution remains unchanged. A justice’s court is a court of the lowest grade known to our…
2Cited by4 opinions
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