Slike strani
PDF
ePub
[graphic][merged small]

The judges of the city courts are sometimes appointed by the mayor. Sometimes they are elected by the people. Each city has a city attorney. He gives his opinion.

and advice on all legal matters of the city.

The city courts are a division of the state courts.

Questions and Topics for Discussion

Name the three departments of city government.

To which department do the courts belong?

Describe the various city courts.

What cases do you know of that have been tried in any of these courts?

What is the purpose of the juvenile court?
Why have night courts been established?
Who looks after the legal affairs of the city?
What are the city courts a division of?

[blocks in formation]

LESSON X

HOW THE COUNTY AIDS THE GOVERN

MENT OF THE CITY AND STATE

Every city and almost every town has a government of its own which deals with local matters.

Some of these matters, although local, are of interest and importance to other cities and towns also.

The building of roads and bridges is a matter of this kind. They concern not only the people of the township but also the whole state..

In the interest of the people there is a division of government smaller than the state, yet larger than the town. This division is the county.

Each state is divided into counties, and almost all counties are divided into towns.

The county assists in local government. It also aids the state in carrying on certain business which affects the smaller communities, and which the state needs assistance in caring for.

The county is also a state judicial district, and helps to administer state laws.

There is usually a board of commissioners who are in charge of the county affairs.

They are elected by the voters.

The duties of the county commissioners consist mostly in the care of county buildings, such as courthouses, jails, almshouses, and reform schools.

In most counties there is a sheriff, who is the most important officer in the county.

He carries out the orders of the courts, and is in charge of the jail.

In some states in the South and West where there is no town government, the county commissioners have charge of the business of the towns.

Questions and Topics for Discussion

What is a county? Why was it created?

Name two ways in which the county aids the state.

Of what further assistance is it?

Who is in charge of county affairs? What are their duties?

Who is the most important officer in the county?

What is his work?

What work does the county government sometimes do in the South and West?

LESSON XI

SELF-GOVERNMENT IN THE STATE BY MEANS
OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION

When the people of the thirteen original colonies wished to free themselves from the rule of England, they framed the Declaration of Independence.

Each state later adopted a written constitution, framed by the people, to take the place of the charter granted by the king.1

These state constitutions, then as now, were the fundamental law of the state.

They described the state government and they named the state's powers.

Each state since then has adopted a written constitution as it entered the Union.

1 Either directly or indirectly.

The constitution is a law made by the people themselves. It is a higher law than the laws made by the legislature. And it cannot be changed except by the people themselves. The constitution is framed by a body of men chosen by the people, and it is almost always voted upon by the people before it becomes a law.

A constitution may be changed if conditions require it, but only by consent of the voters of the state.

The constitution therefore is really the will of the people. It states the rights of the people so clearly that the state government cannot interfere with them through the state legislature or otherwise.

One of the most important parts of every state constitution is the Bill of Rights, which is a statement of the rights which must not be infringed upon by the government.

Thus did the people of long ago sow the seeds of Democracy, a Democracy which has grown to be a vast and noble Republic.

Questions and Topics for Discussion

What document did the colonies frame when they wished to free themselves from England?

What did each state afterward adopt?

What did it take the place of?

What kind of government did the state constitution substitute for a government by the king?

What is the state constitution?

What does the constitution describe?

By whom is the constitution framed?

How may it be changed?

How did the men who drew up the Declaration of Independence sow the seeds of Democracy?

« PrejšnjaNaprej »