The New International Encyclopædia/Commitment

COMMITMENT (from commit, Lat. committere, to commit). A warrant of a justice, magistrate, or other official having police jurisdiction, ordering that a person accused of a crime be held for trial, and either directing that he be sent to prison immediately or admitting him to bail to secure his attendance at that time. The term commitment is also sometimes used of the sending a person to jail to enforce obedience of an order or decree of a court; but the term is most frequently used where the person is to be detained for some temporary purpose, as above indicated. It is seldom employed where the prisoner is finally sentenced to a term in prison as a punishment, after having been found guilty of a crime, in which case the judgment of the court is usually considered a sufficient warrant for the sheriff or proper authorities to carry out the sentence. See Judgment; Sentence; Sheriff; Warrant.