Indictable - Law Dictionary Search Results
Home Dictionary Name: indictable Page: 7Conspiracy
Conspiracy. 'A conspiracy is an agreement by two or more persons to carry out an unlawful common purpose, or to carry out a lawful common purpose by unlawful means. It is a misdemeanour at common law, punishable with fine and imprisonment to any extent; and also with hard labour in the case of ' any conspiracy to cheat or defraud, or to extort money or goods, or falsely to accuse of any crime, or to obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of public justice ''(14 & 15 Vict. c. 100, s. 29); see Odgers on the Common Law, 2nd Edn. P. 255. 'If in carrying into effect a criminal conspiracy the conspirators inflict loss and damage on a private individual, he will have a private action for the particular damage which he has thus separately suffered'; ibid. pp. 256, 625. There are also, it seems, what may be called civil con-spiracies, i.e., conspiracies which may be the foundation of an action, though not of an indictment; and there are undoubtedly cases in which two or more persons ca...
Confession by culprit
Confession by culprit, the acknowledgment by a criminal of the offence charged against him when charged by any person or called upon to plead to the indictment. A confession before trial, if given without any inducement of favour or threat of punishment, is evidence against the person charged even though he may be in custody (R. v. Best, (1909) 1 KB 692), and by the Criminal Justice Act, 1925 (c. 86), s. 12, replacing Indictable Offences Act, 1848, s. 18, and the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, s. 13 (2), justices of the peace are directed to give an accused person 'clearly to understand that he has nothing to hope from any promise of favour, and nothing to fear from any threat which may have been held out to him' to make any confession of guilt. See ACCUSED....
Code
Code, a collection or system of laws. The collection of laws and constitutions made by order of the Emperor Justinian is distinguished by the appellation of 'The Code' by way of eminence. See CIVIL LAW.The Code Napoleon, or Civil Code of France, pro-ceeding from the French Revolution, and the administration of Napoleon while First Consul, effected great changes in the laws of that country. Framed in the first instance by a commission of jurists appointed in 1800, this Code, after having passed both the tribunate and the legislative body, was promulgated in 1804 as the 'Code Civil des Francais.' When Napoleon became emperor, the name was changed to that of Code Napoleon, by which it is still often designated, though it is now styled by its original name of Code Civil. A Code de Procedure Civile, a Code de Commerce, Code d'Instruction Criminelle, and Code Penal were afterwards compiled and promulgated under Bonaparte's administration. To these was sub-sequently added a Code Forestier, or...
Garrotting
Garrotting, the criminal choking of a person. by the Garrotters Act, 1863 (26 & 27Vict. c. 44), the crimes of robbery with violence, which is punishable by penal servitude under s. 23 of the Larceny Act, 1916, and choking, etc., with intent to commit any indictable offence, which is similarly punishable under s. 21 of the offences against the Person Act, 1861, are each of them punishable also by whipping, if the offender be a male....
Chloroform
Chloroform, administering. It is a felony for any person to administer of attempt to administer chloroform, or other stupefying drug, within tent to enable himself or another to commit, or to assist another in the commission of, any indictable offence.-Offences against the Person Act, 1861, s. 22. Procuring defilement of a woman by administering drugs, see (English) Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 69), s. 3....
Blasphemy
Blasphemy [fr. bl'ptw, Gk., to hurt, and fhmh, reputation; blasfhmw', to speak impiously; blasphemo, Lat., to revile, Wedgw.], an offence against God and religion, by denying to the Almighty His Being and Providence, or by contumelious reproaches of our Saviour Christ. Also, all profane scoffing at the Holy Scripture, and exposing it to contempt and ridicule. It is an indictable misdemeanour at Common Law, see Reg. v. Ramsay & Foote, (1993) 15 Cox, CC 231.In case an offender has been educated in or at any time made profession of Christianity, the statute 9 & 10 Wm. 3, c. 32 (c. 35 in the Revised Statutes), Chitty's Statutes, tit. 'Criminal Law (Offences against Peace, etc.), commonly called 'The Blasphemy Act,' though it is only directed against apostasy, but is cumulative upon the common law, R. v. Carlile, (1819) 3 B. & Ald. 167, very severely punishes any person 'who shall by writing printing teaching or advised speaking, deny the Christian religion to be true, or the Holy Scripture...
Backing a warrant of a justice of the peace
Backing a warrant of a justice of the peace. Formerly, where a warrant which had been granted in one jurisdiction was required to be executed in another, as where a felony had been committed in one county and the offender was lurking in another county, then, on proof of the handwriting of the justice who granted the warrant, a justice in such other county endorsed his name on the back of it, and thus gave authority to execute the warrant in such other county. See Indictable Offences Act, 1848, ss. 11-15, and later Acts. Now by the (English) Criminal Justice Act, 1925, a warrant lawfully issued by a justice of the peace may be executed anywhere in England and Wales.A warrant issued by a metropolitan police magistrate in respect of an offence committed within the metropolitan police district may be executed in England and Wales by any constable to whom it is addressed without backing (2 & 3 Vict. c. 71, s. 17). See METROPOLITAN POLICE MAGISTRATES....
Amotion
Amotion, a putting away, a removing, deprivation or ouster of possession. In municipal borough, a removal from his office of a councillor by his fellow-councillors, frequently exercised before the (English) Municipal Corporation Act, 1835, and not expressly abolished either by that Act or by the (English) Municipal Corporation Act, 1882. The power of amotion is implied or may be conferred by charter. Under the old law it has been said that offences justifying amotion must either be committed in the official character, infamous, or indictable (Kyd on Corporations); but habitual drunkenness was held a sufficient cause in Reg. v. Taylor, (1694) 3 Salk 231, where also a bye-law giving power to amove for just cause was held good; nor does there seem to be any means except amotion of getting rid of a clearly unfit councillor who refuses to resign. See Halsbury's L. of E., 2nd ed., Vol. 8, pp. 38 et seq....
Adulteration
Adulteration, the corrupt production of any article, especially food: indictable at common law, see R. v. Dixon, (1814) 3 M&S 11. The adulteration of bread, corn, meal, or flour is made a statutory offence by the Bread Act, 1836, and the (English) Bread Acts (Amendment) Act, 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5, c. 28), and that of food, including drink, generally by the (English) Food and Drugs (Adulteration) Act, 1928 (18 & 19 Geo. 5, c. 31).By the act the mixing, colouring, staining or powdering of any article so as to render it injurious to health, as to affect injuriously the quality of the drugs or lettering any article in such estate, in punishable for a first offence by a fine not exceeding 50l.; for a second offence by imprison-ment not exceeding six months. The sale to the prejudice of the purchaser of articles of food and drugs not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser, is prohibited. Where however, the article is properly labelled as mixed, no liability arises. Prov...
Absence of accused
Absence of accused, The accused must be present at the trial in cases of treason and felony, and cannot be sentenced in his absence, R. v. Hales, (1924) 1 KB 602.In cases of indictable misdemeanours, though the accused's presence at the actual trial is not absolutely essential, he must be present at the preliminary inquiry. With regard to summary jurisdiction, the justices may proceed ex parte after proof of service of the summons.Absence of husband or wife for seven years is, under certain circumstances, a defence on an indictment for bigamy. See BIGAMY....
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