7. The seals of Courts of admiralty and maritime Same. jurisdiction, and of Notaries Public; 8. The laws of nature, the measure of time, and the geographical divisions and political history of the world. In all these cases the Court may resort for its aid to appropriate books or documents of reference. CHAPTER II. WITNESSES. SECTION 1878. Witnesses defined. 1879. All persons capable of perception and communication 1880. Persons who cannot testify. 1881. Persons in certain relations to parties prohibited. 1883. Judge or a juror may be witness. 1884. When an interpreter to be sworn. defined. 1878. A witness is a person whose declaration Witnessos under oath is received as evidence for any purpose, whether such declaration be made on oral examination, or by deposition or affidavit. 1879. (§ 391.) All persons, without exception, All persons otherwise than is specified in the next two sections, capable of perception and communication be witnesses. who, having organs of sense, can perceive, and, per- mayit ceiving, can make known their perceptions to others, may be witnesses. Therefore, neither parties nor other persons who have an interest in the event of an action or proceeding are excluded; nor those who have been convicted of crime; nor persons on account of their opinions on matters of religious belief; although, in every case the credibility of the witness may be drawn in question, as provided in Section 1847. 1880. (§ 394.) The following persons cannot be Persons witnesses: who cannot testify. Same. Persons in certain relations to parties 1. Those who are of unsound mind at the time of their production for examination; 2. Children under ten years of age, who appear incapable of receiving just impressions of the facts respecting which they are examined, or of relating them truly. (§§ 1881. ($$ 395, 396, 397, 398, 399.) There are par ticular relations in which it is the policy of the law prohibited. to encourage confidence and to preserve it inviolate; therefore, a person cannot be examined as a witness in the following cases: 1. A husband cannot be examined for or against his wife, without her consent, nor a wife for or against her husband, without his consent; nor can either, during the marriage or afterwards, be, without the consent of the other, examined as to any communication made by one to the other during the marriage; but this exception does not apply to a civil action or proceeding by one against the other, nor to a criminal action or proceeding for a crime committed by one against the other; 2. An attorney cannot, without the consent of his client, be examined as to any communication made by the client to him, or his advice given thereon in the course of professional employment; 3. A clergyman or priest cannot, without the consent of the person making the confession, be examined as to any confession made to him in his professional character in the course of discipline enjoined by the Church to which he belongs; 4. A licensed physician or surgeon cannot, without the consent of his patient, be examined in a civil action as to any information acquired in attending the patient which was necessary to enable him to prescribe or act for the patient; 5. A public officer cannot be examined as to com munications made to him in official confidence, when the public interests would suffer by the disclosure. privileged must 1882. If a person offer himself as a witness, that when is to be deemed a consent to the examination, also, of persons a wife, husband, attorney, clergyman, physician, or testify. surgeon on the same subject, within the meaning of the first four subdivisions of the last section. 1883. 1883. (§ 400.) The Judge himself, or any juror, may be called as a witness by either party; but in such case it is in the discretion of the Court or Judge to order the trial to be postponed or suspended, and to take place before another Judge or jury. Judge or a juror may bo witness. interpreter 1884. (§ 401.) When a witness does not under- When an stand and speak the English lauguage, an interpreter to be sworn must be sworn to interpret for him. Any person, a resident of the proper county, may be summoned by any Court or Judge to appear before such Court or Judge to act as interpreter in any action or proceeding. The summons must be served and returned in like manner as a subpoena. Any person so summoned who fails to attend at the time and place named in the summons, is guilty of a contempt. CHAPTER III. WRITINGS. ARTICLE I. WRITINGS IN GENERAL. II. PUBLIC WRITINGS. III. PRIVATE WRITINGS. Writings, public and private. Public writings defined. All others privato. ARTICLE I. WRITINGS IN GENERAL. SECTION 1887. Writings, public and private. 1889. All others private. 1887. Writings are of two kinds: 1. Public; and, 2. Private. 1888. Public writings are: 1. The written acts or records of the acts of the sovereign authority, of official bodies and tribunals, and of public officers, legislative, judicial, and executive, whether of this State, of the United States, of a sister State, or of a foreign country; 2. Public records, kept in this State, of private writings. 1889. All other writings are private. ARTICLE II. PUBLIC WRITINGS. SECTION 1892. Every citizen entitled to inspect and copy public writings. 1893. Public officers bound to give copies. 1894. Four kinds of public writings. 1895. Laws, written or unwritten. 1896. Written laws defined. 1897. Constitution and statutes. 1898. Public and private statutes defined. 1899. Unwritten law defined. 1900. Books containing laws presumed to be correct. 1902. Other evidence of laws of other States. 1903. Recitals in statutes, how far evidence. 1904. Judicial record defined. 1905. Record, how authenticated as evidence. 1906. Record of a foreign country, how authenticated. 1908. Effect of a judgment upon rights in various cases. SECTION 1909. Effect of other judicial orders, when conclusive. 1916. Manner of impeaching a record. 1917. The jurisdiction necessary in a judgment. 1923. Contents of other official certificates. 1924. Provisions in relation to States apply to Territories. citizen 1892. Every citizen has a right to inspect and Every take a copy of any public writing of this State, except as otherwise expressly provided by statute. 1893. Every public officer having the custody of a public writing, which a citizen has a right to inspect, is bound to give him, on demand, a certified copy of it, on payment of the legal fees therefor, and such copy is primary as evidence of the original writing. entitled to inspect and copy public writings. Public bound to officers give copios. 1894. Public-writings are divided into four classes: Four kinds 1. Laws; 2. Judicial records; 3. Other official documents; 4. Public records, kept in this State, of private writings. of public writings. 1895. Laws, whether organic or ordinary, are either Laws, written or unwritten. written or unwritten. 1896. A written law is that which is promulgated Written in writing, and of which a record is in existence. laws defined. |