Commentaries on the Liberty of the Subject and the Laws of England Relating to the Security of the Person (Volume 1) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1877 Excerpt: ... hand from an assault, and on the other hand from a riot. An assault may take place anywhere; an affray must be in a public place. A riot must be joined in by at least three persons, while one person may be guilty of an affray.1 A prize fight may be fought in so private a manner as to give rise to no offence other than assault.2 Or it may begin as an assault, and soon turn into an affray by constables arriving and suffering resistance. An instance of an affray is where a fight is carried on in a public place, in which case all present and encouraging are guilty of the offence of affray.4 And where parties have promoted the fight, they may be guilty of a riot as well as an affray.5 For the same reason a duel, if carried out in a place of pubKc resort, is an affray in addition to its becoming a crime of murder or manslaughter according to the circumstances and the result. Even a forcible entry into one's own land, or to recover one's own goods, may be an affray, if force be used, and if numbers of persons join.6 Who may stop an affray.--The rule as to an affray is, that any person whatever, who witnessed it, is justified iu using force to seize and deliver to a constable one of the affrayers, and if the affrayer is hurt or wounded in the attempt, the person so seizing or wounding him, if the force used was no more than was reasonably adapted to secure the object in view, will nevertheless be justified in his act.7 Not only is a bystander justified in interfering to arrest an affrayer, but if he be reasonably able to interfere with effect, and refuse to assist a constable when asked, he will be liable to indictment, and to be fined and imprisoned; for though this offence is seldom prosecuted, all are liable to such an occasional duty.8 A bystander seizing an af...