Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1902-01-10
SOME LEGAL FREAKS
CURIOUS TWISTS THAT OBTAIN m
ENGLISH CRIMINAL LAW.


Person May NJ Guilty of Periurx
Though We sweazs to the rruth-No
Such oaense a. rrespsss - Points
About Forgery.
In no branch OF the law as It Ia dis
pensed In Great Britain are such curl
Gus points to be found OF greater
number OF anomalies TO be met with
than In the criminal branch thereof.
1t may be news TO some people. for
instance, TO know that there are a mum.
Der or things In existence which can.
not DE stolen, such as a corpse, animals
tefSe nature-i. e.. animals wild I'm a
state OF nature with certain excep.
lions created by statute)-soil OF the
earth. etc. To attempt to steal nothing
would appear on the face OF II to be
an impossibility, much less a crime,
but man indicted for attempting to
pick a lady's pocket which was subse.
quently found to be empty was found
guilty Of an attempt to commit theft /"
though, In fact, there was nothing In
the pocket to steal.
ADy one lucky enough to pick up a
sovereign lying in the road Will be glad
10 hear that, II at the time OF finding
II he had no reasonable means OF dis
covering the owner OF 1t, and also IL ne
did not at the same time conceive the
idea of appropriating 1t to himself he
will not be guilty of stealing if he
keeps his lucky find. even If the right
ful owner discovers and claims 1t.
Most people walking In the country
must have noticed on numerous occa.
sions boards or placards posted up In
woods. fields. etc, notifying In large
letters that "trespassers will be prose
cuted." but few are aware that such
notices are utterly useless and no one
need feel the least alarm thereat, there
being no such offense known in crimi-
nal law as such n trespass, and a per-
son could never be prosecuted for such
an ofense. They are, In fact, In the
words OF that eminent Jurist, Sir Fred
erick Pollock, in his well known work,
Pollock on Torts," a wooden false
hood"
IL Is common fallacy to imagine
that the crime OF forgery consists I'm
signing another's name, though In fact
committing forgery consists In making
anc uttering any false instrument in
writing with attempt to defraud; thus
it may be a forgery to omit a word
from document, and IT will be a mat
ter of considerable surprise to many to
learn that it is possible for person to
forge his or her own name. A person.
however, who fraudulently inserts an
others name on picture. thereby sell
Ing II as the work OF some other artist.
is not guilty OF forgery, as a picture is
not an instrument I'm writing"
The crime OF perjury also does not
quite "ft in" with the generally 40,
cepted idea, which is that If person,
after being sworn on oath to speak the
truth. swears falsely, he is guilty OF
such offense. This is correct with the
important qualification that the fact
the witness has sworn TO must be ma
terial to the case. Thus. II a witness
on being duly sworn gave n false adj
dress on being asked where he lived,
this. though untrue would not amount
TO perjury. as the place where the wit
ness lived would be quite immaterial.
That person may be guilty OF per-
jury though speaking the truth may
seem curious anomaly, but such new
ertheless is the fact. as the test OF per-
jury is not whether a person is speak
ing what he believes to be the truth:
so, If witness. for instance. on being
asked. What colored tie was the pris-
oner wearing when yon met him 2'' re-
piled red" when in fact he did not
really notice. he would be guilty OF
perjury, even though the prisoner was
In reality wearing a red tie when the
witness met him.
Numerous other instances of crimes
which present similar curious points TO
the above might be given. and. in pass
Ing persons taking out assurances
against burglary might note that this
crime can only be committed between
the hours Of 8 p. IN. and a. M: that
breaking into house by means OF an
open door or window is not burglary,
although entering a house by sliding
down the chimney is.
We must not conclude this article
without short reference to a compar-
atively recent case In which a man not
possessing the means to pay entered a
restaurant, where he ordered and ate a
good dinner. AS, however, he was I'M
able to pay for the same he was given
In charge and subsequently indicted
for obtaining goods by false pre-
lenses" The case resulted in the pris-
oner's acquittal on the ground that he
had not been guilty OF any false pre-
lenses.
This individual therefore had a good
meal on the cheap, but we should not
advise any enterprising reader to emu
late his example, as, although he could
not indeed be prosecuted for obtaining
goods by false pretenses. 1t seems that
he will still be criminally liable under
the bankruptcy act for obtaining credit
by fraudulent means.-London Tit Bits.
AverttnR a Panic.
On one occasion John Philip Sousa by
his promptness was the direct means
of stopping a panic which might have
had tho TonCT dfSo cfr.0.to roc,x1kc WILL