The Dickinson press., 1902-02-01
SOME LEGAL FREAKS
oUaaoUs TWISTS THAT OBTAIN IN
ENGLISH CRIMINAL LAW.

4 Person May BE Guilty Of Perjury
Though He swears to the Tr1th-No
Such ORense "a Trespass - Points
About Forgery.
In no branch Of the law as 1t IL dis
Densedsin Great Britain r such curl
Gus points to be found or a greater
number Of anomalies to be met with
than in the criminal branch thereof.
1t may b. news to some people, for
instance. to know that there are a num-
Der of things in existence which an
not be stolen, such as a corpse, animals
fere natural. e.. animals wild In a
state Of nature with certain excep-
lions created by statute)-soil Of the
earth, etc. To attempS to steal nothing
would appear on the face of 1t to be
an impossibility, much less q crime,
but a man indicted for attempting to
pick a lady's pocket which vas 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.
Any one lucky enough to pick up a
sovereign lying in the road will be glad
to hear. that, II at the time Of finding
T be had mo reasonable means Of dis
covering the owner Of 1t, and also II he
did not at the same. time conceive the
idea Of appropriating 1t to himself, he
will not be guilty of stealing II he
keeps his lucky find, wen II the right
full 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 + utterly useless and no one
need feel the least alarm fhereat, there
being no such ohense known in criml-
nal law as such q trespass. and a per-
son could never be prosecuted for such
an o6ense. 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 - I'D
It Is a common fallacy to imagine
that the crime of forgery consists in
. signing another's name. though in fact
committing forgery consists in making
and uttering any false instrument in
writing with attempt to defraud: thus
It may be a forgery to omit a word
from a document, and it will be a mat
ter of considerable surprise to many to
learn that it Is possible for a person to
forge his or her own name. A person.
however. who ~fraudulently inserts an
Others name on a picture. thereby sell.
ing It az the work Of some other artist,
IL not guilty of forgery. as a picture is
not an instrument in writing"
The crime Of perjury also does not
quite ,"atr In" with the generally ac-
cepted idea. which is that If a person.
after being sworn on oath to speak the
truth, swears falsely. he Is guilty of
such o6ense. This is correct with the
important qualification that the fact
the witness has sworn to must be ma
terial to the case. Thus. If a witness
on being duly sworn gave q false ad.
dress On being asked where he lived.
thiA though untrue would not amount
tosper3ury, az the place where the wit
ness lived would be quite immaterial.
That a person may be guilty Of per-
Jury though speaking the truth may
seem a:curious anomaly, but such new.
ertheleSs IL the Fact, as the test Of per-
Jury 40 not whether "a person is speak
ing what he believes to be the truth;
90, II a witness, for instance, on being
asked, what colored tie was the pris-
one wearing when you met him?' re-
piled ''red,p 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. m. and 6 a. NJ: that
bfeakingsi into a house by means Of an
opeh~door Of window -is-not burglary,
oAIAVU8u cAIcIAuS q uOu6S W 0A1OAuk
down the chimney IL.
We must not conclude this. article
without q short, reference to a compar-
advely recent case ii which man not
possessing the means to- pay, entered a
restaurant, where he ordered!and ate a
good dinner. Az, however. he was un-
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, "a. although he could
not indeed be prosecuted for obtaining
goods by false pretenses. It seems that
he will still be criminally liable under
the bankruptcy act for obtaining credit
by fraudulent means.-London Tit-Bits