What does this mean?

[thea_447]

I have a question.
My husband and I take the Mobile Register as our local newspaper because we hate the Montgomery Advertiser. One of the parts we love are little anecdotes that are in it from different years and dates in history.
For example, Charlie just read this one from 1854: "The Mayor's Court- 3 Negroes were up for running away and examination." Now what do you think "examination" means? Has anyone ever come across this before?

[johan_steele]

Thea, the term examination in this case may reference several things including their status... ie they may actually have been freemen who were accused of being runaway slaves and were being examined as to their status. The term examination also may indicate they were deciding whether to charge them w/ other criminal acts ie while running away did they steal anything such as food, clothing or commit crimes such as robbery, rape etc. Finally the term might also infer that there was to be a cursory medical examination to determine their health before return to their various masters, this was often done to cover the law or bounty hunter so that the owner would have no grounds to refuse to pay based on health etc.

I recently read a small treatsie on the legal actions of lawyers, judges, prosecuters etc in the pre-civil war south. To be honest It did a splendid job of putting me to sleep two nights in a row. I pretty much concluded that Lawyers were just as adept at double speak then as now and every bit as concerned about CYA.

I probably should have forced myself to read it from cover to cover... but I've never been into self torture.

100 lawyers at the bottom of the Marianas Trench: a good start.

[mobile_96]

Shane,
What is the availability of this treatise, and title of course. It might fit in with some things I've been reading lately.

>100 lawyers at the bottom of the Marianas Trench: a good start.<
Sounds like a waste of good water, unless you enclose them in several ft of concrete first.
Chuck in Il.

[johan_steele]

Charles,

It was handed me by a young man in pre-law. It was a 35-40 page document taken from a larger book. I had thought originally it was part of a thesis... had to be from a text book because it was so dry it made me crave alcoholic suicide.

I believe the title was a "History of the American Criminal Justice system" I should be seeing him Thanksgiving time and will ask for the correct title then. Have to jot that down to remember.