The county magistrate is the parent of a county and the chief judge. Under him, there is a team of judges composed of county magistrate, county commandant and principal book. They are not the personal aides of county officials, but colleagues appointed by the court and enjoying the status and treatment of "national civil servants" These people are either ex officio or authorized to handle criminal and civil cases as presiding officers.
drumming was originally the off-duty number.
You can "drum" whenever you have grievances? In fact, it is a wrong understanding. The big drum set in front of the lobby was originally used to announce the departure of the county grandfather, and it was not used until the Ming and Qing Dynasties as an emergency for the people who had no time to write a complaint.
if ordinary people want to go to court, they must submit a complaint first. The so-called plaint, officially called "indictment", is quite similar to today's indictment. This paper is made by both parties, with clear cause of action and facts, sophisticated brushwork and strict compliance with the legal format of the complaint. It is very likely that it was written by a legal document writer who holds a license issued by the government-a "proxy book".
confession, five hearings and torture
after all this, we can enter the formal trial. In accordance with the provisions of the trial procedure, the plaintiff shall be tried first, the defendant shall be retried, and then the witness shall be questioned. First, the plaintiff kneels on the plaintiff's stone on the left side of the case, and states the cause of action and facts clearly according to the requirements of the judge. Then call the defendant, the defendant's position is on the defendant stone on the right side of the case, and the judge will interrogate the defendant according to the plaintiff's complaint. If the defendant refuses to accept, ask the witness. There may be two situations in witness testimony. If the testimony is consistent with the plaintiff's allegations, the defendant will continue to be interrogated; If the testimony holds its own words, the plaintiff, the defendant and the witness will be confronted in court.
confession, which mainly refers to the confession of the defendant, occupies the most important position in the evidence system. The ancient judges attached great importance to the confession, and the trial procedure revolved around the acquisition of the confession, and the final judgment was also based on the confession. Confession, as the king of evidence in ancient litigation, was established with the application of the "Five Listings" mode of prison litigation, and it has been greatly developed in later generations.
Five Listening is a general interrogation method, which was applied in judicial practice as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty. When you say "listen", that is, listen to what you say, and if you are justified, you will quit. Second, color listening, that is, the so-called inspection of its color, argument is flushed; The third is to listen to the breath, that is, to listen to its breath, and to argue is not smooth; Fourth, hearing, that is, hearing, reasoning can not hear clearly; Five eyes listen, look at his eyes, and his eyes twinkle when he is justified. Listening to prison proceedings with five tones and seeking people's feelings include some physiological and psychological methods, contain scientific elements, and are the crystallization of ancient wisdom.
torture is the legal means to obtain a confession. In order to avoid unjust imprisonment caused by abuse of torture, the law has very strict provisions on the procedure of torture. The so-called "severe punishment to serve" is mainly to hit the board. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, a special interrogation staff with a length of three feet and five inches, a big head of two thirds and a small head of two thirds was used for torture, and only the back, legs and buttocks could be hit, and the three parts were required to be punished equally. Torture cannot exceed three times, and the total number of punishments cannot exceed 2. If the defendant refuses to confess after the legal number of prison examinations, he can get bail and torture the plaintiff in turn.
there are many kinds of closing judgments
when the case is heard, it will enter the closing procedure. In ancient times, the conclusion of cases required judicial officials to quote laws and make judgments based on facts. Different from the standard judgments of modern courts, the ancient judgments are very concise and reveal a strong personal style.
Many famous judgments have been handed down and talked about by later generations. Zheng Banqiao, one of the eight eccentrics in Yangzhou, once sentenced him to secularization and marriage with a sensational case of a monk and nun in Weixian. As the poem goes, "Half gourd and half ladle make a peach. From now on, the storm will be quiet, and then knock on the door and the moon will be far away. Birds are happy with time and space, and the lotus leaves are quiet and charming. Who hooked up the romantic case and remembered Zheng Banqiao that year? "