326

LAWS OF MARYLAND.

justice of the peace, who shall have jurisdiction

original and concurrent with the circuit court of said

county; and the said justice shall hav.e power to issue

all process and do all acts which may be necessary to

the exercise of his said jurisdiction, and may try and

determine all cases whereof he may have jurisdiction,

and may pronounce judgment and sentence therein in

the same manner and to the same extent as the circuit

court for said county could do in such cases, as if

such cases were tried before said court without the

intervention of a jury; provided, however, that if any

person, when brought before any such justice having

jurisdiction of the case, shall, before trial for the alleged

offence, pray a jury trial, or if the state's attorney for

said county shall, before trial of such alleged offence,

Duty of justice.

pray a jury trial on the part of the state, it shall be

the duty of any such justice to commit such alleged

offender for trial, or to hold the said offender to

bail to appear for trial in the circuit court for the

county in which the offence was committed at its

then session, if it be in session, or at its next ses-

sion, if it be not in session, and to return said commit-

ment or recognizance, with the names and residences

of witnesses for the prosecution endorsed thereon,

Proviso.

forthwith to the clerk of said court, provided the jus-

tice before whom the case is tried shall inform the

person charged of his or her right to a jury trial, and

which, in every case, the said justice is hereby required

to do.

SEC. 7. And be it enacted, That state's attorneys

and justices of the peace having knowledge of any

previous conviction of any person accused of this act,

in preparing warrants, presentments and indictments,

shall allege such previous conviction therein, and it

Duty of clerk.

shall be the duty of the clerk of the circuit court to

furnish such information to the state's attorney and

grand jury; but it shall not be necessary to set forth
particularly in any such presentment or indictment

the record of a former conviction, but it shall be suffi-

cient to allege briefly that said person or persons, cor-

poration, company or association had been convicted

of a violation of any of the provisions of this act ;

May be amend-

and any such indictment or proceeding may be amended

ed.

at any stage of the proceedings before final judgment,

and as a matter of right.

Approved April 8, 1884.