INDIANA. The name of one of the new states of the United States. This
state was admitted into the Union by virtue of the "Resolution for admitting the
state of Indiana into the Union," approved December 11, 1816, in the following
words: Whereas, in pursuance of an act of congress, passed on the nineteenth day
of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, entitled "An act to enable the
people of the Indiana territory to from a constitution and state government, and
for the admission of that state into the Union," the people of the said
territory did, on the twenty-ninth day of June, in the present year, by a
convention called for that purpose, form for themselves a constitution and state
government, which constitution and state government, so formed, is republican,
and in conformity with the principles of the articles of compact between the
original states and the people and states in the territory north-west of the
river Ohio, passed on the thirteenth day of July, one thousand seven hundred and
eighty-seven.
2. Resolved, That the state of Indiana shall be one, and is hereby declared
to be one of the United States of America, and admitted into the Union on an
equal footing with the original states, in all respects whatever.
3. The first constitution of the state was adopted in the -year eighteen
hundred and sixteen, and has since been superseded by the present constitution,
which was adopted in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-one. The powers of the
government are divided into three distinct departments, and each of them is
confided to a separate body of magistracy, to wit: those which are legislative,
to one; those which are executive, including the administrative, to another; and
those which are judicial to a third. Art. III.
4. - 1st. The legislative authority of the state is vested in a general
assembly, which consists of a senate and house of representatives, both elected
by the people.
5. The senate is composed of a number of persons who shall not exceed fifty.
Art. 2. The number shall be fixed by law. Art. IV. 6. A senator shall 1. Have
attained the age of twenty-five years. 2. Be a citizen of the United States. 3.
Have resided, next preceding his election, two years in this state, the last
twelve months of which must have been in the county or district in which he may
be elected. Senators shall be elected for the term of four years, and one-half
as nearly as possible shall be elected every two years.
6. - 2. The number of representatives is to be fixed by law. It shall never
exceed one hundred members. Art. IV. s. 2, 5.
7. To be qualified for a representative, a person must, 1. Have attained the
age of twenty-one year's. 2. Be a Citizen, of the United States. 3. Have been
for two years next preceding his election an inhabitant of this state, and for
one year next proceding his election, an inhabiant of the county or district
whence he may be chosen. Art. IV. s. 7. Representatives are elected for the term
of two years from the day next after their general election. Art. IV. s. 3. And
they shall be chosen by the respective electors of the counties. Art. IV. s. 2.
.
8. - 2d, The exeutive power of this state is vested in a governor. And, under
certain circumstances, this power is exercised by the lieutenant-governor.
9. - 1. The governor is elected at the time and place of choosing members of
the general assembly. Art. V. s. 3. The person having the highest number of
votes for governor shall be elected; but, in case to or more persons shall have
an equal and the highest number of votes for the office, the general assembly
shall, by joint vote, forthwith proceed to elect one of the said persons
governor. He shall hold his office during four years, and is not eligible more
than four years in any period of eight years. The official term of the governor
shall commence on the second Monday of January, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and fifty-three, and on the same day every fourth year thereafter. His
requisite quali- fications are, that he shall, 1. Have been a citizen of the
United States for five years. 2. Be at least thirty years of age. 3. Have
resided in the state five years next preceding his election. 4. Not hold any
office under the United States, or this state. He is commander-in-chief of the
army and navy of the state, when not in the service of the United States, and
may call out such forces, to execute the laws, to suppress insurrection, or to
repel invasion. He shall have the power to remit fines and forfeitures; grant
reprieves and pardons, except treason and cases of impeachments; and to require
information from executive officers. When, during a recess of the general
assembly, a vacancy shall happen in any office, the appointment of which is
vested in the general assembly, or when at any time a vacancy shall have
happened in any other state office, or in the office of judge of any court, the
governor shall fill such vacancy by appointment, which shall expire when a
successor shall have been elected and qualifled. He shall take care that the
laws be faithfully executed. Should the seat of government become dangerous,
from disease or at common enemy, he may convene the general assembly at any
other place. He is also invsted with the veto power. Art. V.
10. - 2. The lieutenant-governor shall be chosen at every election for a
governor, in the same manner, continue in office for the same time, and possess
the same qualifications. In voting for governor and lieutenant-governor, the
electors shall distinguish whom they vote for as governor, and whom as
lieutenant-governor. He shall, by virtue of his office, be president of the
senate; have a right, when in committee of the whole, to debate and vote on all
subjects, and when the senate are equally divided, to give the casting vote. In
case of the removal of the governor from office, death, resignation, or
inability to discharge the duties of the office, the lieutenant-governor shall
exercise all the powers and authority appertaining to the office of governor.
Whenever the government shall be administered by the lieutenant-governor, or he
shall be unable to attend as president of the senate, the senate shall elect one
of their own members as president for that occasion. And the general assembly
shall, by law, provide for the case of removal from office, death, resignation,
or inability, both of the governor and lieutenant-governor, declaring what
office r shall then act as governor; and such officer shall act accordingly,
until the disability be removed, or a governor be elected. The
lieutenant-governor, while he acts as president of the senate, shall receive for
his services the same compensation as the speaker of the house of
representatives. The lieutenant-governor shall not be eligible to any other
office during the term for which he shall have been elected.
11. - 3. The judicial power of the state is vested by article VII of the
Constitution as follows:
1. The judicial power of this state shall be vested in a supreme court, in
circuit courts, and in such other inferior courts as the general assembly may
direct and establish.
12. - 2. The supreme court shall consist of not less than three nor more than
five judges, a majority of whom form a quorum, which shall have jurisdiction
co-extensive with the limits of the state, in appeals and writs of error, under
such regulations and restrictions as may be prescribed by law, shall also have
such original jurisdiction as the general assembly may confer. And upon the
decision of every case, shall give a statement, in writing, of each question
arising in the record of such case, and the decision of the court thereon.
13. - 3. The circuit courts shall each consist of one judge. The state shall,
from time to time, be divided into judicial circuits. They shall have such civil
and criminal jurisdiction as may be prescribed by law. The general assembly may
provide by law, that the judge of one circuit may hold the court of another
circuit in case of necessity or convenience; and in case of temporary inability
of any judge, from sickness or other cause, to hold the courts in his circuit,
provision shall be made by law for holding such courts.
14. - 4. Tribunals of conciliation may be established with such powers and
duties as shall be prescribed by law; or the powers and duties of the same may
be conferred on other courts of justice; but such tribunals or other courts when
sitting as such, shall have no power to render judgment to be obligatory on the
parties, unless they voluntarily submit their matters of difference, and agree
to abide the judgment of such tribunal or court.
15. - 5. The judges of the supreme court, the circuit and other inferior
courts, shall hold their offices during the term of six years, if they shall so
long behave well, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a
compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in
office.
16. - 6. All judicial officers shall be conservators of the peace in their
respective jurisdiction.
17. - 7. The state shall be divided into as many districts as there ate
judges of the supreme court; and such districts shall be formed of contiguous
territory, as nearly equal in population, as without dividing a county the same
can be made. One of said judges shall be elected from each district, and reside
therein; but said judges shall be elected by the electors of the state at
large.
18. - 8. There shall be elected by the voters of the state, a clerk of the
supreme court, who shall hold his office four years, and whose duties shall be
prescribed by law.
19. - 9. There shall be elected in each judicial circuit by the voters
thereof, a prosecuting attorney, who shall hold his office for two years.
20. - 10. A competent number of justices of the peace shall be elected by the
qualified electors in each township in the several counties, and shall continue
in office four years, and their powers and duties shall be prescribed by
law.
21. - 11. Every person of good moral character, being a voter, shall be
entitled to admission to practice law in all courts of justice.
INDICIA, civil law. Signs, marks. Example: in replevin, the chattel
must possess indicia, or earmarks, by which it can be distinguished from all
others of the same description. 4 Bouv. Inst. n. 3556. This term is very nearly
synonymous with the common law phrase, "circumstantial evidence." It was used to
designate the facts giving rise to the indirect inference, rather than the
inference itself; as, for example, the possession of goods recently stolen,
vicinity to the scene of the crime, sudden change in circumstances or conduct,
&c. Mascardus, de Prob. lib. 1, quaest. 15; Dall. Dict. Compet«nce
Criminelle, 92, 415; Morin, Dict. du Droit Criminal, mots Accusation, Chambre du
Conseil.
2. Indicia may be defined to be conjectures, which result from circumstances
not absolutely necessary and certain, but merely probable, and which may turn
out not to be true, though they have the appearance of truth. Denisart, mot
Indices. See Best on Pres. 13, note f.
3. However numerous indicia may be, they only show that a thing may be, not
that it has been. An indicium, can have effect only when a connexion is
essentially necessary with the principal. Effects are known by their causes, but
only when the effects can arise only from the causes to which they. are
attributed. When several causes may have produced one and the same effect, it
is, therefore, unreasonable to attribute it to any one of such causes. A
combination of circumstances sometimes conspire against an innocent person, and,
like mute witnesses, depose against him. There is danger in such cases, that a
jury may be misled; their minds prejudiced, their indignation unduly excited, or
their zeal seduced. Under impressions thus produced, they may forget their true
relation to the accused, and condemn a man whom they would have acquitted had
they required that proof and certainty which the law demands. See D'Aguesseau,
Oeuvres, vol. xiii. p. 243. See Circumstances.
INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment
preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted.
INDICTION, computation of time. An indiction contained a space of
fifteen years.
2. It was used in dating at Rome and in England. It began at the dismission
of the Nicene council, A. D. 312. The first year was reckoned the first of the
first indiction, the second, the third, &c., till fifteen years afterwards.
The sixteenth year was the first year of the second indiction, the thirty-first
year was the first ar of the third indiction, &c.
INDICTMENT, crim. law, practice. A written accusation of one or more
persons of a crime or misdemeanor, presented to, and preferred upon oath or
affirmation, by a grand jury legally convoked. 4 Bl. Com. 299; Co. Litt. 126; 2
Hale, 152; Bac. Ab. h. t.; Com. Dig. h. t. A; 1 Chit. Cr. L. 168.
2. This word, indictment, is said to be derived from the old French word
inditer, which signifies to indicate; to show, or point out. Its object is to
indicate the offence charged against the accused. Rey, des Inst. l'Angl. tome 2,
p. 347.
3. To render an indictment valid, there are certain essential and formal
requisites. The essential requisites are, 1st. That the indictment be presented
to some court having jurisdiction. of the offence stated therein. 2d. That it
appear to have been found by the grand jury of the proper county or district.
3d. That the indictment be found a true bill, and signed by the foreman of the
grand jury. 4th. That it be framed with sufficient certainty; for this purpose
the charge must contain a certain description of the crime or misdemeanor, of
which the defendant is accused, and a statement of the facts by which it is
constituted, so as to identify the accusation. Cowp. 682, 3; 2 Hale, 167; 1
Binn. R. 201; 3 Binn. R; 533; 1 P. A. Bro. R. 360; 6 S. & R. 398 4 Serg.
& Rawle, 194; 4 Bl. Com. 301; Yeates, R. 407; 4 Cranch, R. 167. 5th. The
indictment must be in the English language. But if any document in a foreign
language, as a libel, be necessarily introduced, it should be set out in the
original tongue, and then translated, showing its application. 6 T. R. 162.
4. Secondly, formal requisites are, 1st. The venue, which, at common law
should always be laid in the county where the offence has been committed,
although the charge is in its nature transitory, as a battery. Hawk. B. 2, c.
25, s. 35. The venue is stated in the margin thus, "City and county of _____ to
wit." 2d. The presentment, which must be in the present tense, and is usually
expressed by the following formula, "the grand inquest of the commonwealth of
______ inquiring for the city and county aforesaid, upon their oaths and
affirmations present." See, as to the venue, 1 Pike, R. 171; 9 Yerg. 357. 3d.
The name and addition of the defendant; but in case an error has been made in
this respect, it is cured by the plea of the defendant. Bac. Ab. Misnomer, B;
Indictment, G 2; 2 Hale, 175; 1 Chit. Pr. 202. 4th. The names of third persons,
when they must be necessarily mentioned in the indictment, should be stated with
certainty to a common intent, so as sufficiently to inform the defendant who are
his accusers. When, however, the names of third persons cannot be ascertained,
it is sufficient, in some cases, to state " a certain person or persons to the
jurors aforesaid unknown." Hawk. B. 2, c. 25, s. 71; 2 East, P. C. 651, 781; 2
Hale, 181; Plowd. 85; Dyer, 97, 286; 8 C. & P. 773. See Unknown. 5th. The
time when the offence was committed, should in general be stated to be on a
specific year and day. In some offences, as in perjury, the day must be
precisely stated; 2 Wash. C. C. Rep. 328; but although it is necessary that a
day certain should be laid in the indictment, yet, in general, the prosecutor
may give evidence of an offence committed on any other day previous to the
finding of the, indictment. 5 Serg. & Rawle, 316. Vide 11 Serg. & Rawle,
177; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 217, 224; 1 Ch. Pl. Index, tit. Time. See 17 Wend. 475; 2
Dev. 567; 5 How. Mis. 14; 4 Dana. 496; C. & N. 369; 1 Hawks, 460. 6th. The
offence should be properly described. This is done by stating the substantial
circumstances necessary to show the natue of the crime and, next, the formal
allegations and terms of art required by law. 1. As to the substantial
circumstances. The whole of the facts of the case necessary to make it appear
judicially to the court that the indictors have gone upon sufficient premises,
should be set forth; but there should be no unnecessary matter or any thing
which on its face makes the indictment repugnant, inconsistent, or absurd. Hale,
183; Hawk. B. 2, c. 25, s. 57; Ab. h. t. G 1; Com. Dig. h. t. G 3; 2 Leach, 660;
2 Str. 1226. All indictments ought to charge a man with a particular offence,
and not with being an offender in general: to this rule there are some
exceptions, as indictments against a common barrator, a common scold, and the
keeper of a common bawdy house; such persons may be indicted by these general
words. 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 230, and the authorities there cited. The offence must
not be stated in the disjunctive, so as to leave it uncertain on what it is
intended to rely as an accusation; as, that the defendant erected or caused to
be. erected a nuisance. 2 Str. 900; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 236.
2. There are certain terms of art used, so appropriated by the law to express
the precise idea which it entertains of the offence, that no other terms,
however synonymous they may seem, are capable of filling the same office: such,
for example, as traitorously, (q. v.) in treason; feloniously, (q. v.) in
felony; burglariously, (q. v.) in burglary; maim, (q. v.) in mayhem, &c.
7th. The conclusion of the indictment should conform to the provision of the
constitution of the state on the subject, where there is such provision; as in
Pennsylvania, Const. art. V., s. 11, which provides, that " all prosecutions
shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, and conclude against the peace and dignity of the same." As to the
necessity and propriety of having several counts in an indictment, vide 1 Chit.
Cr. Law, 248; as to. joinder of several offences in the same indictment, vide 1
Chit. Cr. Law, 253; Arch. Cr. Pl. 60; several defendants may in some cases be
joined in the same indictment. Id. 255; Arch. Cr. Pl. 59. When an indictment may
be amended, see Id. 297 .Stark. Cr. Pl. 286; or quashed, Id. 298 Stark. Cr. Pl.
831; Arch. Cr. 66. Vide; generally, Arch. Cr. Pl. B. 1, part 1, c. 1; p. 1 to
68; Stark. Cr. Pl. 1 to 336; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 168 to 304; Com. Dig. h. t.: Vin.
Ab. h. t.; Bac. Ab. h. t.; Dane's Ab. h. t.; Nels. Ab. h. t.; Burn's Just. h.
t.; Russ. on Cr. Index, h. t.,
5. By the Constitution of the United States, Amendm. art. 5, no person shall
be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a
presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land
or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war, or
public danger.
INDICTOR. He who causes another to be indicted. The latter is
sometimes called the indictee.
INDIFFERENT. To have no bias nor partiality. 7 Conn. 229. A juror, an
arbitrator, and a witness, ought to be indifferent, and when they are not so,
they may be challenged. See 9 Conn. 42.
INDIRECT EVIDENCE. That proof which does not prove the fact in
question, but proves another, the certainty of which may lead to the discovery
of the truth of the one sought.
INDIVISIBLE. That which cannot be separated.
2. It is important to ascertain when a consideration or a contract, is or is
not indivisible. When a consideration is entire and indivisible, and it is
against law, the contract is void in toto. 11 Verm. 592; 2 W. & S. 235. When
the consideration is divisible, and part of it is illegal, the contract is void
only pro tanto.
3. - To ascertain whether a contract is divisible or indivisible, id to
ascertain whether it may or may not be enforced, in part, or paid in part,
without the consent of the other party. See 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 694, and articles
Divisible; Entire.
INDIVISUM. That which two or more persons hold in common without
partition; undivided. (q. v.)
TO INDORSE. To write on the back. Bills of exchange and promissory
notes are indorsed by the party writing his name on the back; writing one's name
on the back of a writ, is to indorse such writ. 7 Pick. 117. See 13 Mass.
396.
INDORSEE, contracts. The person in whose favor an indorsement is
made,
2. He is entitled to all the rights of the indorser, and, if the bill or note
have been indorsed over to him before it became due, he may be entitled to
greater rights than the payee and indorser would have had, had he retained it
till it became due, as none of the parties can make a set-off, or inquire into
the consideration of the bill which he then holds. If he continues to be the
holder (q. v.) when the bill becomes due, he ought to make a legal demand, and
give notice in case of non-acceptance or non-payment. Chitty on Bills,
passim.
INDORSEMENT, crin. law, practice. When a warrant for the arrest of a
person charged with a crime has been issued by a justice of the peace of one
county, which is to be executed in another county, it is necessary in some
states, as in Pennsylvania, that it should be indorsed by a justice of the
county where it is to be executed: this indorsement is called backing. (q. v.)
INDORSEMENT, contracts. In its most general acceptation, it is what is written
on the back of an instrument of writing, and which has relation to it; as, for
example, a receipt or acquittance on a bond; an assignment on a promissory
note.
2. Writing one's name on the back of a bill of exchange, or a promissory note
payable to order, is what is usually called, an indorsement. It will be
convenient to consider, 1. The form of an indorsement; and, 2. Its effect.
3. - 1. An indorsement is in full, or in blank. In full, when mention is made
of the name of the indorsee; and in blank, when the name of the indorsee is not
mentioned. Chitty on Bills, 170; 13 Serg. & Rawle, 315. A blank indorsement
is made by writing the name of the indorser on the back; a writing or assignment
on the face of the note or bill would, however, be considered to have the force
and effect of an indorsement. 16 East, R. 12. when an indorsement has been made
in blank any after attempt to restrain the negotiability of the bill will be
unavailing. 1 E.N. P. C. 180; 1 Bl. Rep. 295; Ham. on Parties 104.
4. Indorsements may also be restrictive conditional, or qualified. A
restrictive indorsement may restrain the negotiability of a bill, by using
express words to that effect, as by indorsing it "payable to J. S. only," or by
using other words clearly demonstrating his intention to do so. Dougl. 637. The
indorser may also make his indorsement conditional, and if the condition be not
performed, it will be invalid. 4 Taunt. Rep. 30. A qualified indorsement is one
which passes the property in the bill to the indorsee, but is made without
responsibility to the indorser; 7 Taunt. R. 160; the words commonly used are,
sans recours, without recourse. Chit. on Bills, 179; 3 Mass. 225; 12 Mass. 14,
15.
5. - 2. The effects of a regular indorsement may be considered, 1. As between
the indorser and the indorsee. 2. Between the indorser and the acceptor. And, 3.
Between the indorser and future parties to the bill.
6. - 1. An indorsment is sometimes an original engagement;as, when a man
draws a bill payable to his own order, and indorses it; mostly, however, it
operates as an assignment, as when the bill is perfect, and the payee indorses
it over to a third person. As an assignment, it carries with it all the rights
which the indorsee had, with a guaranty of the solvency of the debtor. This
guaranty is, nevertheless, upon condition that the holder will use due diligence
in making a demand of payment from the acceptor, and give notice of
non-acceptance or non-payment. 13 Serg. Rawle, 311.
7.-2. As between the indorsee and the acceptor, the indorsement has the
effect of giving to the former all the rights which the indorser had against the
acceptor, and all other parties liable on the bill, and it is unnecessary that
the acceptor or other party should signify his consent or knowledge of the
indorsement; and if made before the bill is paid, it conveys all these rights
without any set-off, as between the antecedent parties. Being thus fully
invested with all the rights in the bill, the indorsee may himself indorse it to
another when he becomes responsible to all future patties as an indorser, as the
others were to him.
8. - 3. The indorser becomes responsible by that act to all persons who may
afterwards become party to the bill. Vide Chitty on Bills, ch. 4; 3 Kent, Com.
58; Vin. Abr. Indorsement; Com. Dig. Fait, E 2; 13 Serg. & Rawle, 311; Merl.
R«pert. mot Endossement Pard. Droit Com. 344-357; 7 Verm. 356; 2 Dana, R. 90; 3
Dana, R. 407; 8 Wend. 600; 4 Verm. 11; 5 Harr. & John. 115; Bouv. Inst.
Index, h. t.
INDORSER, contracts. The person who makes an indorsement.
2. The indorser of a bill of exchange, or other negotiable paper, by his
indorsement undertakes to be responsible to the holder for the amount of the
bill or note, if the latter shall make a legal demand from the payer, and, in
default of payment, give proper notice thereof to the indorser. But the indorser
may make his indorsement conditional, which will operate as a transfer of the
bill, if the condition be performed; or he may make it qualified, so that he
shall not be responsible on non-payment by the payer. Chitty on Bills,
179,180.
3. To make an indorser liable on his indorsement, the instrument must be
commercial paper, for the indorsement of a bond or single bill.will not, per se,
create a responsibility. 13 Serg. & Rawle, 311. But see Treval v. Fitch, 5
Whart. 325; Hopkins v. Cumberland Valley R. R. Co., 3 Watts & Serg. 410.
4. When there are several indorsers, the. first in point of time is
generally, but not always, first-responsible; there may be circumstances which
may cast the responsibility, in the first place, as between them, on a
subsequent indorsee. 5 Munf. R. 252.
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