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section five hundred and one is charged to have been committed, shall act as a magistrate or justice, in any case of complaint or information under that section, or as a member of any court for hearing any appeal in any such case. R.S., c. 173, s. 12.

Indictable Offences.

579. Any judge or other person presiding at the sittings of Questions a court at which any person is tried for an indictable offence raised at trial may be under this Act, whether he is the judge of such court or is reserved for appointed by commission or otherwise to hold such sittings, decision. may reserve the giving of his final decision on questions raised at the trial; and his decision, whenever given, shall be considered as if given at the time of the trial. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 753.

courts.

580. Every superior court of criminal jurisdiction and Jurisdiction every judge of such court sitting as court for the trial of of superior criminal causes, and every court of oyer and terminer and general gaol delivery has power to try any indictable offence. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 538.

New Brunswick.]-County courts in New Brunswick are not courts of oyer and terminer and general gaol delivery, as the circuits of the Supreme Court are. Criminal jurisdiction is given to the county courts by statute, but nothing is said to the effect that they are courts of general gaol delivery. R. v. Wright, 2 Can. Cr. Cas. 88 (N.B.). And see secs. 582 and 583 as to their jurisdiction.

581. Where an indictment is found against any person for Option for any of the offences mentioned in section four hundred and trial without ninety-eight, the defendant or person accused shall have the jury in trade conspiracy option to be tried before the judge presiding at the court at cases. which the indictment is found, or the judge presiding at any subsequent sitting of such court, or at any court where the indictment comes on for trial, without the intervention of a jury; and in the event of such option being exercised the proceedings subsequent there to shall be regulated in so far as may be applicable by Part XVIII. 52 V., c. 41, s. 4.

Trade conspiracy trials.]-See sec. 498.

582. Every court of general or quarter sessions of the Jurisdiction peace, when presided over by a superior court judge, or a of sessions county or district court judge, or in the cities of Montreal

and certain and Quebec by a recorder or judge of the sessions of the peace, other courts. and in the province of New Brunswick every county court judge has power to try any indictable offence except as hereinafter provided. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 539; 56 V., c. 32, s. 1.

Idem.

The courts here mentioned have their power limited by sec. 583. Court records.]-The judgments of the courts of general sessions in Ontario are public records, and the clerk of the peace holds them as their statutory custodian in the interests of the public generally and not as a deputy officer of the Crown. Any person interested in the indictments and records of the court of general sessions is entitled of right to inspect them. R. v. Scully (1901), 5 Can. Cr. Cas. 1 (Ont.); Attorney-General v. Scully, 6 Can. Cr. Cas. 167.

An accused person tried and acquitted in such court is entitled to a copy of the record of such acquittal and of the indictment without the fiat of or intervention by the Attorney-General of the province, and a mandamus will lie to the clerk of the peace to compel the delivery to him of certified copies. Ibid.

Committal for trial by magistrate.]-See sec. 690.

583. No court mentioned in the last preceding section has power to try any offence under sections,

(a) seventy-four, treason; seventy-six, accessories after the
fact to treason; seventy-seven, seventy-eight, and seventy-
nine, treasonable offences; eighty, assaults on the King;
eighty-one, inciting to mutiny; eighty-five, unlawfully
obtaining and communicating official information; eighty-
six, communicating information acquired in office; or,
(b) one hundred and twenty-nine, administering, taking or
procuring the taking of oaths to commit certain crimes;
one hundred and thirty, administering, taking or procur-
ing the taking of other unlawful oaths; one hundred and
thirty-four, seditious offences; one hundred and thirty-
five, libels on foreign sovereigns; one hundred and thirty-
six, spreading false news; or,

(c) one hundred and thirty-seven to one hundred and forty
inclusive, piracy; or,

(d) one hundred and fifty-six, judicial, etc., corruption; one hundred and fifty-seven, corruption of officers employed in prosecuting offenders; one hundred and fifty-eight, frauds upon the Government; one hundred and sixty, breach of trust by a public officer; one hundred and sixtyone, municipal corruption; one hundred and sixty-two (a), selling offices; or,

(e) two hundred and sixty-three, murder; two hundred and sixty-four, attempt to murder; two hundred and sixty

five, threat to murder; two hundred and sixty-six, conspiracy to murder; two hundred and sixty-seven, accessory after the fact to murder; or,

(f) two hundred and ninety-nine, rape; three hundred, attempt to commit rape; or,

(g) three hundred and seventeen to three hundred and thirty-four, defamatory libel; or,

(h) four hundred and ninety-eight, combination in restraint of trade; or,

(i) conspiring or attempting to commit, or being accessory after the fact to any of the offences in this section before mentioned; or

(j) any indictment for bribery or undue influence, personation or other corrupt practice under the Dominion Elections Act. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 540; 57-58 V., c. 57, s. 1; 63-64 V., c. 46, s. 3.

Special Jurisdiction.

584. For the purposes of this Act,

tions.

(a) where the offence is committed in or upon any water, On water tidal or other, or upon any bridge, between two or more between magisterial jurisdictions, such offence may be considered jurisdicas having been committed in either of such jurisdictions; (b) where the offence is committed on the boundary of two Near boundor more magisterial jurisdictions, or within the distance ary between of five hundred yards from any such boundary, or is begun jurisdictions. within one magisterial jurisdiction and completed within another, such offence may be considered as having been' committed in any one of such jurisdictions;

vehicle or

dictions.

(c) where the offence is committed on or in respect to a In respect mail, or a person conveying a post letter bag, post letter to mail or or anything sent by post, or on any person, or in respect vessel passof any property, in or upon any vehicle employed in a ing through journey, or on board any vessel employed on any navigable several jurisriver, canal or other inland navigation, the person accused shall be considered as having committed such offence in any magisterial jurisdiction through which such vehicle or vessel passed in the course of the journey or voyage during which the offence was committed; and where the centre or other part of the road, or any navigable river, canal or other inland navigation along which the vehicle or vessel passed in the course of such journey or voyage,

is the boundary of two or more magisterial jurisdictions, the person accused of having committed the offence may be considered as having committed it in any one of such jurisdictions. 55-56 V., c. 29, s. 553; 63-64 V., c. 46, s. 3.

Magistrate's jurisdiction.]—A magistrate may hold a preliminary enquiry in respect of an indictable offence committed in the same province outside of his territorial jurisdiction, if the accused is, or is suspected to be, within the limits over which such magistrate has jurisdiction, or resides or is suspected to reside within such limits. R. v. Burke (1900), 5 Can. Cr. Cas. 29 (Ont.); Code sec. 653.

The general rule is that the magistrate or justice of the peace has jurisdiction either by reason of the residence or presence of the accused in his district, or by reason of the commission of the offence within its limits. There is, however, an enlargement of this general rule in sec. 553, whereby, when an offence is begun within one magisterial jurisdiction and completed within another, such offence may be considered as having been committed in either of them. R. v. Hogle (1896), 5 Can. Cr. Cas. 53, R.J.Q. 5 Q.B. 59.

This section is derived from the Imperial Act, 7 Geo. IV., ch. 64, sec. 12. In Rex v. Girdwood (1776), 2 East P.C. 1120, 1 Leach's Crown Cases 169, it was held on a case reserved, that a person writing a threatening letter in one country and delivering it to another person in that country, by whom it was posted at the writer's request to an address in another county, was properly tried and convicted in the latter country.

In R. v. Esser (1767), 2 East P.C. 1125, Lord Mansfield held that the sending of a letter by post directed to a person in another county was sending also in the latter county, and that the whole was to be considered as the act of the defendant to the time of the delivery in that county. 3 Russell on Crimes, 6th ed., 722 (p).

If the accused person, "wherever he may be," (i.e., within Canada), is charged with having committed an indictable offence within the limits over which a justice of the peace has jurisdiction, the justice is empowered to issue a warrant or summons to compel the attendance of the accused person before him for the purpose of preliminary enquiry; Cr. Code, sec. 653 (b); and the accused may be arrested upon such warrant in any part of Canada upon the warrant being "endorsed" by a justice within whose jurisdiction the accused may be found; Cr. Code 662. The "endorsement" is to be made only upon proof, by oath or affirmation, of the handwriting of the justice who issued the same, and when made is sufficient authority to the person bringing such warrant, to carry the person against whom the warrant is issued, when apprehended, before the justice who issued the warrant or before other justices at the place from which the warrant came. Cr. Code 662.

The courts will take judicial notice of the local divisions, such as counties, municipalities and polling sections, into which their country is divided for purposes of political government. Ex parte Macdonald (1896), 3 Can. Cr. Cas. 10 (S.C. Can.).

Where the offence charged was the making, circulation and publication of false statements of the financial position of a company, and it appeared that the statements were mailed from a place in Ontario to the parties intended to be deceived in Montreal, the offence, although commenced in Ontario, is completed in the Province of Quebec by the delivery of the letters to the parties to whom they were addressed. R. v. Gillespie (No 2) (1898), 2 Can. Cr. Cas. 309 (Que.); R. v. Ellis, [1899] 1 Q.B. 230.

In such case, the courts of the Province of Quebec have jurisdiction to try the accused, if he has been duly committed for`trial by a magistrate of the district. Ibid.

The offence of fraudulent conversion of the proceeds of a valuable security may consist in a continuity of acts-the reception of the valuable security, the collection of the proceeds, the conversion of the proceeds, and lastly the failure to account for them; and where the beginning of the operation is in one district and the continuation and completion are in another district, the accused may be proceeded against in either district. R. v. Hogle (1896), R.J.Q. 5 Q.B. 59; 5 Can. Cr. Cas. 53.

Magistrates cannot give themselves jurisdiction or retain jurisdiction by finding a particular fact one way, if the evidence is clearly the other way. White v. Feast (1872), L.R. 7, Q.B. 353; R. v. Davy (1900), 4 Can. Cr. Cas. 28, 33 (Ont. C.A.).

A prohibition may issue to a court exercising criminal jurisdiction as well as to a civil court. Per Cockburn, C.J., in R. v. Herford, 3 El. & El. p. 136. And there is no doubt that prohibition can issue to a justice of the peace to prohibit him from exercising a jurisdiction which he has not. Chapman v. Corporation of London (1890), 19 Ont. R. 33.

Keepers of the peace.]—In 1327, 1 Edw. III., ch. 16, it was enacted that "For the better keeping and maintenance of the peace, the King will that in every country good men and lawful, which be no maintainers of evil or barrators in the country, shall be assigned to keep the peace." By 4 Edw. III., ch. 2, they were to send their indictments to be tried by the justices of assize, but later it was further provided that two or three of the best reputation in the counties should be assigned keepers of the peace by the King's commission. (18 Edw. III., stat. 2, ch. 3.) The statute 34 Edw. III., ch, 1, giving them further powers, first designated them as "justices."

tracts in

585. All offences committed in any of the unorganized Offences in tracts of country in the province of Ontario, including lakes, unorganized rivers and other waters therein, not embraced within the limits Ontario. of any organized country, or within any provisional judicial district, may be laid and charged to have been committed and may be inquired of, tried and punished within any county of such province; and such offences shall be within the jurisdiction of any court having jurisdiction over offences of the like nature committed within the limits of such county, before which court such offences may be prosecuted; and such court shall proceed therein to trial, judgment and execution or other punishment for such offence, in the same manner as if such offence had been committed within the county where such trial is had.

new counties

2. When any provisional judicial district or new county is Provisional formed and established in any of such unorganized tracts, all districts or offences committed within the limits of such provisional judicial within. district or new county, shall be inquired of, tried and punished within the same, in like manner as such offences would have been inquired of, tried and punished if this section had not been passed.

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