Wood v. McCrary
Wood v. McCrary
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff in error entered an appeal from the-judgment of a justice of the peace to the superior court, five days, exclusive of Sundays, after the rendition of the judgment, which was for an amount greater than fifty dollars. Upon the-call of the case in the superior court, the appeal was dismissed on the ground that it had not been entered within time. Exception was taken. Whether or not the judgment dismissing-the appeal was correct depends upon the construction of two-sections of the code. Section 4138 of the Civil-Code is as follows : “ Either party being dissatisfied with the judgment of’ the justice of the peace or notary public, and upon all confessions of judgment, provided the amount claimed in said suit-is over fifty dollars,- may, as a matter of right, enter an appeal from said judgment, within four days (exclusive of Sundays) after the rendition of such judgment, under the same rules, regulations, restrictions, and liabilities as are provided on the subject-of appeals. ” Section 4455 of the Civil Code is as follows: ‘ ‘ Appeals to the superior court must be entered within four days after the adjournment of the court in which the judgment -was-rendered.” The plaintiff in error insists that his case is controlled by the latter section. In order to determine which section controls appeals from the judgments of a justice of the peace to the superior court, it is necessary to go to some extent into, the history of the two sections and into the subject of' appeals generally. Section 4455 is codified from the judiciary act of 1799, which allowed appeals in the superior court from a petit jury to a special jury, and appeals from the inferior to-the superior court. Appeals under that act could be taken four days after the adjournment of the court rendering the judgment. There was no provision in that act for appeals to the superior-court from a justice’s court. As far as we can ascertain, there-was no appeal from the judgment of a justice of the peace to a jury, in either the justice’s court or the superior court, until the-act of 1811 which allowed an appeal from the judgment of a justice to a jury in the justice’s court. The constitution of 1868-abolished this right of appeal from the judgment of a justice-of the peace to a jury in the justice’s court, but gave the right, of appeal from the judgment of a justice of the peace to a.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.