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The Green Bag
summons, which are changes of form more than of substance, no other im portant amendments are made in those parts of the code which relate to the commencement of actions and the plead ings. The articles relating to the pro visional remedies are not materially changed except by adding a provision, modeled after the Massachusetts statute, providing for the attachment of corpor ate stocks. Important changes are made in the article relating to trials and new trials. The judge at chambers may hear and dispose of all preliminary matters and pass on all questions of law, whether raised by motion, demurrer, or merely suggested by the pleadings, so that it is no longer necessary to wait from term to term for the disposition of pre liminary matters. Where a number of different causes of action are joined which cannot be all tried in the same manner, the court or judge may direct separate trials of one or more issues in the appropriate manner. Where the plaintiff is permitted to join all kinds of causes of action, it may happen that a jury trial will be a matter of right as to some of them, that a reference may be necessary of another, and that another ought to be tried by the court. The judge has full power to meet the situation, whatever it may be. Actions are triable on the issues of fact in ten days after they are made up. Heretofore it has been necessary that the issues be made up ten days before the first day of the term. Many of the judicial dis tricts of the state include only one county and have but three or four terms of court a year, so that considerable delay resulted from this requirement. Peremptory challenges to jurors were formerly made in open court and in the presence of the jurors, so that the challenged juror knew who made the
challenge. Now eighteen jurors are selected, who are free from challenge for cause; each party then strikes three names from the list, and the remaining twelve constitute the jury. Motions for a new trial were formerly required to be filed within three days and at the term at which the verdict or decision was rendered, except for the cause of newly discovered evidence. Now they may be filed within three days without refer ence to the end of the term, and may be decided by the judge at chambers. Where a verdict, report or decision is procured by corruption, a new trial is a matter of right, and all costs must be taxed against the party in fault. A new trial may be granted in any case in which there has not been a fair trial, but if the court is satisfied that a correct result has been reached a new trial may be refused notwithstanding errors in matters of procedure. When the appli cation is made on the ground of newly discovered evidence, or the exclusion of competent evidence, such evidence must be produced on the motion for a new trial, and if upon all the evidence the court is satisfied with the verdict or decision the new trial will not be granted. In cases tried by the court or referee the judgment may be modified in accord ance with the facts disclosed by all the evidence, or a new trial ordered as to one or more issues and refused as to the others. The new trial is to be granted only as to the issues as to which the verdict or decision appears to be wrong, when such issues are separable. In prac tice these provisions will not be likely to result in greatly reducing the number of new trials granted by the trial courts, but as they vest far greater discretion in the trial court, and allow the correc tion of minor errors and a modification of judgments after their rendition, the basis for reversal in the Supreme Court
