Thoughts on Martial Law; With a Mode Recommended for Conducting the Proceedings of General Courts Martial (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: caught: in a word, innocence cannot fave, nor loyalty protec t him, mould a fimiliarity of writing be indifcriminately admitted as a pofitive confirmation of his guilt. Ufage, indeed, eftablifhes that a fimilitude of hands is 'no evidence in a criminal cafe, although it fhould be capital, unlefs the papers mall be found in the pofleffion of the perfon; then, the law accounts it a corroboration of the charge, but otherwife, their authenticity is doubted, ad they cannot be received as articles of crimination againft the prifoner. The admiffion of the evidence of huf- band and wife againft each other, being in law but one perfon hath been unufu- al; though in cafes of abfolute neceflity, it hath fometimes been received . f.. But an exception to a parent, or to kindred Skinner's Reports t State Trials. Trial of Lord Audlejf. E a ia in general, although a good caufe of challenge againft a juror, is no caufe of challenge againft a witnefs. The law therefore allows a father to be a competent witnefs for or againft his fon, or e converfo; and a mafter for or againft his fervant, or e converfo. In all thefe inftances, however, and in all others which may prefent themfelves at a General Court Martial, the court itfelf hath the difcretionary power of regulating the degree of credit with which each evidence mall be received. In the former part of this tract, the exceptions which a prifoner is entitled to plead, either peremptorily or otherwife, againft jurors, are particularly enumerated; nor is it of lefs utility to be acquainted with thofe . f which are in common law admitted againft witnefles on the trial. The moft material are, th Hales, P. G. 276, 377. .) Coke upon Littleton, Raymond, Rolle, M. Rep. partiesparties having been convi