Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 77.djvu/522

 490

PUBLIC LAW 88-241-DEC. 23, 1963

[77 STAT.

ministrators and other fiduciaries, in which the claimed value of personal property or the debt or damages claimed does not exceed the sum of $10,000, exclusive of interest and costs, as well as of all crossclaims and counterclaims interposed in all actions over which it has jurisdiction, regardless of the amount involved. It does not have jurisdiction of: (1) cases involving title to real property, except as provided in section 11-1141; (2) actions against judges of the Court of General Sessions or other officers for official misconduct; or (3) counterclaims, crossclaims, or any other claims whether or not arising out of the same transaction or occurrence and interposed in actions over which the United States District Court for the District of Columbia has jurisdiction. (b) Within the limits of its jurisdiction provided by subsection (a) of this section, the Court of General Sessions has jurisdiction of cases of trespass upon or injury to real property. If the defendant, in such a case, files with the court an affidavit that he claims title to the jjroperty, setting forth the nature of his title, the court may not take further cognizance of the case. (c) The Court of General Sessions has jurisdiction over all civil cases properly pending in the Municipal Court for the District of Columbia on January 1, 1963. § 11-962. Transfer of civil actions to Court of General Sessions In a civil action commenced in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, other than an action for equitable relief, where it appears to the satisfaction of the court at or subsequent to any pretrial hearing but prior to trial thereof that the action will not justify a judgment in excess of $10,000, the court may certify the action to the District of Columbia Court of General Sessions for trial. The pleadings in the action, together with a copy of the docket entries and copies of any orders entered therein, and the deposit for costs, shall be sent to the clerk of the Court of General Sessions. Promptly thereafter, the Court of General Sessions shall call the case for trial. The Court of General Sessions shall thereafter treat the case as though it had been filed originally in that court, except that the jurisdiction of the court shall extend to the amount claimed in the action, even though it exceed the sum of $10,000. § 11-963. Criminal jurisdiction; commitment (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by this section or other law, the District of Columbia Court of General Sessions has original jurisdiction, concurrently with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, of: (1) offenses committed in the District for which the punishment is by fine only or by imprisonment for one year or less; and (2) offenses against municipal ordinances or regulations in force in the District. (b) The Court of General Sessions does not have jurisdiction of the offenses of libel, conspiracy, or violation of the postal or pension laws of the United States. (c) In all cases, whether cognizable in the Court of General Sessions or in the District Court, the Court of General Sessions has jurisdiction to make preliminary examination and commit offenders or grant bail in bailable cases, either for trial or for further examination. (d) The Court of General Sessions has jurisdiction of all criminal cases properly x)©nding in the Municipal Court for the District of Columbia on January 1, 1963.

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