CRIMEN FALSI, civil law, crimes. It is a fraudulent alteration or forgery, to conceal or alter the truth, to the prejudice of another. This crime may be committed in three ways, namely, 1, by forgery; 2, by false declarations or false oath, perjury; 3, by acts, as, by dealing with false weights and measures, by altering the current coin, by making false keys, and the like. Vide Dig. 48, 10, 22; Dig. 34, 8, 2; Code, lib. 9, t. 22, 1. 2, 5, 9, 11, 16, 17, 23 and 24; Merl. Rép. h. t.; 1 Bro. Civ. Law, 426; 1 Phil. Ev. 26; 2 Stark. Ev. 715. CRIMINAL, relating to, or having the character of crime, as, criminal law, criminal conversation, &c. It also signifies, substantively, a person convicted of a crime; as, the criminal is to be hanged. CRIMINAL CONVERSATION, crim. law. This phrase is usually employed to denote the crime of adultery. It is abbreviated crim. con. Bac. Ab. Marriage, E 2; 4 Blackf. R. 157. TO CRIMINATE, to accuse of a crime; to admit having committed a crime or misdemeanor. It is a rule that a witness cannot be compelled to answer any question, which has a tendency to expose him to a penalty, or to any kind of punishment, or to a criminal charge. 4 St. Tr. 6; 10 How. St. Tr. 1090; 6 St. Tr. 649; 16 How. St. Tr. 1149; 2 Dougl. R. 593; 2 Ld. Raym. 1088; 24 How. St. Tr. 720; 16 Ves. jr. 242; 2 Swanst. Ch. R. 216; 1 Cranch, R. 144; 2 Yerg. R. 110; 5 Day, Rep. 260; 1 Carr. & Payne, 11; 2 Nott & McC. 13; 6 Cowen, Rep. 254; 2 Peak. N. P. C. 105; 1 John. R. 498; 12 S. & R. 284; 8 Wend. 598. An accomplice admitted to give evidence against his associates in guilt, is bound to make a full and fair confession of the whole truth respecting the subject-matter of the prosecution, but he is not bound to answer with respect to his share in other offences, in which he was not concerned with the prisoner. 9 Cowen, R. 721, note (a); 2 Carr. & Payne, 411. Vide Disgrace; Witness. CRIMINATION, is the act by which a party accused is proved to be guilty. It is a rule founded in common sense that no one is bound to criminate himself. A witness may refuse to answer a question, when the answser would criminate him, and subject him to punishment. And a party in equity is not bound to answer a bill when the answer would form a step in the prosecution. Coop. Eq. Pl. 204; Mitf. Eq. Pl. by Jeremy, 194; Story, Eq. Pl. § 591; 14 Ves. 59. CRITICISM, is the art of examin. ing and judging of the character of an intellectual work; usually of writ ings or books; when the criticism is reduced to writing, the writing itself is called a criticism. Liberty of criticism must be allowed, or there would be neither purity of taste nor of morals. Fair discussion is essentially necessary to the truth of history and advancement of science. That publication therefore is not a libel which has for its object not to injure the reputation of an individual, but to correct misrepresentations of facts, to refute sophistical reasoning, to expose a vicious taste for literature, or to censure what is hostile to morality. 1 Campb. R. 351, 2. As every man who publishes a book commits himself to the judgment of the public, any one may comment on his performance. If the commentator does not step aside from the work, or introduce fiction for the purpose of condemnation, he exercises a fair and legitimate right. And the critic does a great service to the public who writes down any vapid or useless publication, such as ought never to have appeared; and, although the author may suffer a loss CROP. This word is nearly synonymous with emblements, (q. v.) As between the landlord and tenant, the former has a lien, in some of the states, upon the crop for the rent, for a limited time, and if sold on an execution against the tenant, the purchaser succeeds to the liability of the tenant, for rent and good husbandry, and the crop is still liable to be distrained. Tenn. St. 1825, c. 21; Misso. St. 377; Del. St. 1829, 366; 1 N. J. R. C. 187; Aik. Dig. 357; 1 N. Y. R. S. 746; 1 Ky. R. L. 639; 5 Watts, R. 134; 4 Griff. Reg. 671, 404; 1 Hill. Ab. 148, 9. CROPPER, contracts, is one who having no interest in the land, works it in consideration of receiving a portion of the crop for his labour. 2 Rawle, R. 12. CROSS, contracts, a mark made by persons who are unable to write, instead of their names. When properly attested, and proved to have been made by the party whose name is written with the mark, it is generally admitted as evidence of the party's signature. CROSS BILLS, practice. When an individual prosecutes a bill of indictment against another, and the defendant procures another bill to be found against the first prosecutor, the bills so found by the grand jury are called cross bills. They most usually occur in cases of assault and battery. In chancery practice it is not unusual for parties to file cross bills. Vide Bill, cross. VOL. I.-34 CROSS-EXAMINATION, practice, is the examination of a witness by the party who did not call him. Every party has a right to crossexamine a witness produced by his antagonist, in order to test whether the witness has the knowledge of the things he testifies; and, if upon such examination, it is found that the witness had the means and ability to ascertain the facts about which he testifies, then his memory, his motives, every thing may be scrutinized by the cross-examination. In crossexaminations a great latitude is allow. ed in the mode of putting questions, and the counsel may put leading questions, (q. v.). Vide further on this subject, and for some rules which limit the abuse of this right, 1 Stark. Ev. 96; 1 Phil. Ev. 210. The object of a cross-examination is to sift the evidence and try the credibility of a witness who has been called and given evidence in chief. It is one of the principal tests which the law has devised for the ascertainment of truth, and it is certainly one of the most efficacious. By this means the situation of the witness, with respect to the parties and the subject of litigation, his interest, his motives, his inclinations and his prejudices, his means of obtaining a correct and certain knowledge of the facts to which he testifies, the manner in which he has used those means, his powers of discerning the facts in the first instance, and of his capacity in retaining and describing them, are fully investigated and ascertained. The witness, however artful he may be, will seldom be able to elude the keen perception of an intelligent court or jury, unless indeed his story be founded on truth. When false he will be liable to detection at every step. 1 Stark. Ev. 96; 1 Phil. Ev. 227; Fortesc. Rep. pref. 2 to 4; Vaugh. R. 143. In order to entitle a party to a cross-examination, the witness must have been sworn and examined, for, even if the witness be asked a question in chief, yet if he make no answer, the opponent has no right to cross-examine. 1 Cr. M. & Ros. 95; 16 S. & R. 77; Rosc. Cr. Ev. 128; 3 Car. & P. 16; S. C. 14 E. C. L. Rep. 189. Formerly, however, the rule seems to have been different. 1 Phil. Ev. 211. CRUELTY. This word has different meanings as it is applied to different things. Between husband and wife those acts which affect the life, the health, or even the comfort of the party aggrieved, and give a reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt, are called cruelty. What merely wounds the feelings is seldom admitted to be cruelty, unless the act be accompanied with bodily injury, either actual or menaced. Mere austerity of temper, petulance of manners, rudeness of language, a want of civil attention and accommodation, even occasional sallies of passion, will not amount to legal cruelty; a fortiori the denial of little indulgences and particular accommodations, which the delicacy of the world is apt to number among its necessaries, is not cruelty. These negative descriptions of cruelty are perhaps the best, under the infinite variety of cases that may occur, by showing what is not cruelty. 1 Hagg. R. 35; S. C. 4 Eccles. R. 311, 312; 2 Hagg. Suppl. 1; S. C. 4 Eccles. R. 238; 1 McCord's Ch. R. 205; 2 J. J. Marsh. R. 324; 2 Chit. Pr. 461, 489; Poynt. on Mar. & Div. c. 15, p. 208; Shelf. on Mar. & Div. 425; 1 Hagg. Cons. R. 37, 458; 2 Hagg. Cons. Rep. 154; 1 Phillim. 111, 132; 8 N. H. Rep. 307. It is to be remarked that exhibitions of passion and gusts of anger which would be sufficient to create irreconcilable hatred between persons educated and trained to respect each other's feelings, would, with persons of coarse manners and habits, have but a momentary effect. An act which towards the latter would cause but a momentary difference, would, with the former, be excessive cruelty. 1 Briand, Méd. Lég. lere part. c. 2, art. 3. Cruelty towards weak and helpless persons takes place where a party bound to provide and protect them either abuses them by whipping them unnecessarily, or by neglecting to provide for them those necessaries which their helpless condition requires. To expose a person of tender years, under a party's care to the inclemency of the weather, 2 Campb. 650; or to keep such a child, of inability to provide for himself, without adequate food, 1 Leach, 137; Russ. & Ry. 20; or for an overseer neglecting to provide food and medical care to a pauper having urgent and immediate occasion for them, Russ. & Ry. 46, 47, 48, are examples of this species of cruelty. By the civil code of Louisiana, art. 192, it is enacted, that when the master shall be convicted of cruel treatment of his slave, the judge may pronounce, besides the penalty established for such cases, that the slave shall be sold at public auction, in order to place him out of the reach of the power which his master has abused. Cruelty to animals is an indictable offence. A defendant was convicted of a misdemeanor for tying the tongue of a calf so near the root, as to prevent its sucking, in order to sell the cow at a greater price, by giving to her udder the appearance of being full of milk, while affording her calf all he needed. 6 Rogers, City Hall Rec. 62. A man may be indicted for cruelly beating his horse. 3 Rogers, City H. Rec. 191. CRUISE, mar. law, is a voyage or expedition in quest of vessels or fleets of the enemy which may be expected to sail through any par- | bottom of a bag, and, figuratively, a ticular track of the sea, at a certain street not open at both ends. It season of the year; the region in seems not to be settled whether a cul which these cruises are performed de sac is to be considered a highway. is usually termed the rendezvous or See 1 Camp. R. 260; 11 East, R. cruising latitude. When the ships 376, note; 5 Taunt. R. 137; 5 B. & employed for this purpose, which are Ald. 456; Hawk. P. C. b. 1, c. 76, accordingly called cruisers, have s. 1. arrived at the destined station, they traverse the sea backwards and forward, under an easy sail, and within a limited space conjectured to be in the track of their expected adversaries. Wesk. Ins. h. t.; Lex Merc. Rediv. 271, 284; Dougl. R. 509; Park. Ins. 58; Marsh. Ins. 196, 199, 520. CRYER, practice. An officer in a court whose duty it is to make various proclamations ordered by the court. CUEILLETTE, a term in French maritime law. Affreightment of a vessel à cueillette is a contract by which the captain obligates himself to receive a partial cargo, only upon condition that he shall succeed in completing his cargo by other partial lading; that is, by gathering it (en recueillant) wherever he may be able to find it. If he fails to collect a cargo, such partial chartering is void. Code de Com. par M. Fournel, art. 286, n. CUI ANTE DIVORTIUM. The name of an ancient writ which was issued in favour of a woman divorced from her husband to recover the lands and tenements which she had in fee simple, or in tail, or for life, from him to whom her husband alienated them during the marriage when she could not gainsay it. F. N. B. 240. Vide Sur cui ante divortium. CUI IN VITA. The name of a writ of entry for a widow against a person to whom the husband had, in his life time, aliened the lands of the wife. F. N. B. 193. CUL DE SAC. This is a French phrase which signifies literally, the CULPRIT, crim. law. When a prisoner is arraigned and he pleads not guilty, in the English practice the clerk who arraigns him on behalf of the crown, replies that the prisoner is guilty and that he is ready to prove the accusation; this is done by two monosyllables cul. prit. Vide Abbreviations. 4 Bl. Com. 339; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 416. The appoint CUM TESTAMENTO ANNEXO, with the testament or will annexed. It often happens that the deceased although he makes a will, appoints no executor, or else the appointment fails; in either of which events he is said to die quasi intestatus, 2 Inst. 397. ment of an executor fails, 1st, when the person appointed refuses to act; 2dly, when the person appointed dies before the testator, or before he has proved the will, or when from any other legal cause he is incapable of acting; 3dly, when the executor dies intestate, (and in some places, as in Pennsylvania, whether he die testate or intestate,) after having proved the will, but before he has administered all the personal estate of the deceased. In all these cases as well as when no executor has been appointed, administration with the will annexed must be granted by the proper officer; in the case where the goods are not all adminis. tered before the death of the executor, the administration is also called an administration de bonis non. The office of such an administrator differs little from that of an executor. Vide Com. Dig. Administration; Will. Ex. p. 1, b. 5, c. 3, s. 1; 2 Bl. Com. 504, 5; 11 Vin. Ab. 78; Toll. 92; Gord. | first place, and secondly of the perLaw of Deced. 98. CUMULATIVE LEGACY, vide Legacy accumulative; and 8 Vin. Ab. 308; 1 Supp. to Ves. jr. 133, 282, 882. CURATE, eccl. law. One who represents the incumbent of a church parson or vicar, and takes care of the church, and performs divine service in his stead. CURATOR, persons, contracts, is one who has been legally appointed to take care of the interests of one who on account of his youth or defect of his understanding, or for some other cause, is unable to attend to them himself. There are curators ad bona, of property, who administer the estate of a minor, take care of his person, and intervene in all his contracts; curators ad litem, of suits, who assist the minor in courts of justice, and act as curator ad bona in cases where the interests of the curator are opposed to the interests of the minor. Civ. Code of Louis. art. 357 to 36. There are also curators of insane persons. Ib. art. 31; and of vacant successions and absent heirs. Ib. art. 1105 to 1125. The term curator is usually employed in the civil law for that of guardian. CURATORSHIP, offices, contracts, in the civil law, is the power given by authority of law to one or more persons to administer the property of an individual, who is unable to take care of his own estate and affairs, either on account of his absence without an authorized agent, or in consequence of his prodigality or want of mind. Poth. Tr. des Personnes, t. 6, s. 5. As to the laws of Louisiana, which authorise a curatorship, vide Civ. Code, art 31, 50 et seq.; 357 et seq.; 382; 1105 et seq. Curatorship differs from tutorship, (q. v.) in this, that the latter is instituted for the protection of property in the son; while the former is intended to protect first the person, and secondly the property. i Leçons Elem. du Droit Civ. Rom. 241. CURE. A restoration to health. A person who had quitted the habit of drunkenness for the space of nine months, in consequence of medicines he had taken, and who had lost his appetite for ardent spirits, was held to have been cured. 7 Yerg. R. 146. CURIA ADVISARE VULT, practice, the court will consider the matter. This entry is made on the record when the court wish to take time to consider of a case before they give a final judgment, which is made by an abbreviation cur. ad. vult, for the purpose of marking the continuance. CURIA REGIS. An English court which assumed this name during the reign of Henry II. It was Curia or Aula Regis because it was held in the great hall of the king's palace; and where the king, for some time, administered justice in person. But afterwards the judicial power was more properly entrusted to the king's judges. The judges who sat in this court were distinguished by the name of justices or justiciaries. Besides these the chief justiciary, the stewart of all England, the constable of all England, the chancellor, the chamberlain and the treasurer, also took part in the judicial proceedings of this court. CURTESY, or COURTESY, by the laws of Scotland, is a life-rent given by law to the surviving husband of all his wife's heritage of which she died infeft, if there was a child of the marriage born alive. The child born of the marriage must be the mother's heir. If she had a child by a former marriage, who is to succeed to her estate, the husband has no right to the curtesy while such child is alive; so that the cur |