Fine

in Conveyancing. An amicable composition or agreement of a suit, either actual or fictitious, by leave of the court, by which the lands in question become, or are acknowledged to be, the right ot one of the parties.

Co. Litt. 120; 2 Bla. Com. 349; Bacqn, Abr. Fines and Recoveries.

Fines were abolished in England by stat 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c.

74.

Their use was not unknown in the United States, but has been either expressly abolished or become obsolete.

See 1 Steph. Com. 514.

A fine Is so called because It puts an end not only to the suit tbus commenced, but also to all other suits and controversies concerning the same matter. Such concords, says Doderldge (Eng. Lawyer 84), have been in use In the civil law, and are called transactions, whereof they say thus: Tranaactionea aunt de eia qua in controveraia aunt, a Me futura aut pendente ad certain oompoaitionem reducuntur, dando aliquid vel accipiendo. Or shorter, thus: Tranaactio eat de re dubia et lite ancipite ne dum ad flnem ducta, non gratuita pactio. It is commonly defined an assurance by matter of record, and is founded upon a supposed previously existing right, and upon a writ requiring the party to perform his covenant; although a fine may be levied upon any writ by which lands may be demanded, charged, or bound. It has also been defined an acbe limited to an estate for ilfe or in fee-taii.

Prest. Gonv. 200, 202, 268, 289; 2 Bla. Com. 848.

The stat. 18 Bdw. I., called modus levandi fines, declares and regulates tbe manner in which they should be levied and carried on: and that is as follows: The party to whom the land is conveyed or assured commences an action at law against the other, generally an action of covenant, by suing out a writ of prcecipe, called a writ of covenant, that tbe one shall convey the lands to tbe other, on the breach of which agreement the action is brought. Tbe suit being thus commenced, then follows tbe Ucentia concordandi, or leave to compromise the suit. Tbe concord, or agreement itself, after leave obtained by the court: this is usually an acknowledgment from tbe deforciants that the lands in question are tbe lands of tbe complainants. Tbe note of the fine, which is only an abstract of the writ of covenant and the concord; naming the parties, tbe parcels of land, and the agreement. The foot of tbe fine, or tbe conclusion of it, which Includes the whole matter, reciting the parties, day, year, and place, and before whom it was acknowledged or levied. See Cruise, Fines; Bacon, Abr. Fines ond Recoveries; Corny ns. Dig. Fine. In Criminal Law. Pecuniary punishment Imposed by a lawful tribunal upon a person convicted of crime or misdemeanor. See Shepp. Touchst.

2; Bacon, Abr. Fines and Amercements; 1 Bish. Cr. L. § 940.

It may Include a forfeiture or penalty recoverable in a civil action; Hanscorab v. Russell, 11 Gray (Mass.) 373; Atchison & N. R. Co. v. Baty, 6 Neb. 37, 29 Am. Rep. 356. A fine abates if unpaid at the death of the offender; U. S. v. Mitchell, 163 Fed. 1014. The amount of the fine is frequently left to the discretion of the court, who ought to proportion the fine to the offence. To prevent the abuse of excessive fines, the constitution of the United States directs that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed.”

Vlllth Amendment; Cooley, Const. Lim. 377.

This applies to national and not to state legislation; • Pervear V. Massachusetts, 5 Wall. (U. S.) 480, 18 L. Ed. 608. The supreme court cannot, on haheas corpus, revise the sentence of an inferior court on the ground that the flue was excessive; In re Watkins, 7 Pet. (U. S.) 668, 8 L. Ed. 786. The power to fine reposed in a court of last resort is not unlimited, but is limited by the obligation not to Impose excessive fines; Standard Oil Co. of Indiana v. State of Missouri, 224 U. S. 271, 32 Sup. Ct. 406, 66 L. Ed. 760.