After the plaintiff has introduced all his evidence, the defendant's case is presented in a like manner, the counsel for the plaintiff this time conducting the cross-examination. When the evidence for the defendant is all in, the plaintiff may introduce evidence in rebuttal, after which the defendant may do likewise. The next step is the argument of counsel. The attorney for each side addresses the jury and endeavors to convince it that the evidence sustains the facts which he has undertaken to prove. The burden of proof in civil cases is usually on the plaintiff, and his attorney generally has the privilege of closing the argument. If the plaintiff has failed to make out a case the judge may dismiss the suit without giving the case to the jury, or if the evidence is such as to admit of but one conclusion, the judge may direct the jury to return a verdict in accordance therewith. But if the evidence leaves the question as to the facts in doubt, the case is given to the jury and it alone can make the decision. Before sending the jury to their room the judge instructs them as to the law applicable to the case, but generally in this country he cannot comment on the weight of the evidence or express any opinion as to the facts. The jury, after receiving its instructions, retires from the court room and deliberates in secret. If, after a reasonable time, the jurymen cannot agree upon a verdict they so report to the judge and are discharged, and the trial must be gone through with again. _Judgment; Execution_.--After the return of the verdict, the judge enters judgment in accordance therewith. In most civil cases the judgment, if for the plaintiff, requires the defendant to pay him a certain sum of money as a compensation for the damages he has sustained. If he refuses to pay, an "execution" is issued, that is, the sheriff is required to seize and sell a sufficient amount of the defendant's property to satisfy the judgment. If the suit is one in equity the "decree," as the decision is called, is not usually for the payment of damages but is a command to the defendant to do a specific thing, as, for example, to carry out a contract or to pay a debt; or to refrain from doing something, such as maintaining a nuisance to the injury of the defendant. _Appeal._--After the verdict has been rendered, the losing party may generally take an appeal to a higher court on the ground that errors were committed by the judge in the course of the trial, as, for example, the admission of improper evidence or the exclusion of proper evidence; or because the verdict was contrary to the law and the evidence. The higher court either affirms the judgment of the lower court or reverses it. If it affirms the judgment, it must then be carried out; if it reverses the judgment a new trial is granted and the whole procedure is gone through again.