【www.pindukj.com--涉外文书】
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The lowest level ofthe colonial ju-diciary consisted oflocal judges called justices ofthe peace or magistrates.They were appointed by the colony governor.At the next level in the sys-tem were the county courts,the gener-al trial courts for the colonies.Appeals from all courts were taken to the high-est level
the governor and his council.Grand and petit juries were also in-troduced during this period and remain prominent features ofthe state judicial systems.
By the early 18th century the legal profession had begun to change.Lawyers trained in the English Inns of Court became more numerous,and as a consequence colonial court proce-dures were slowly replaced by more sophisticated English common law.