TITLE II. Of the Kinds and Degrees of Evidence. CHAP. I. Knowledge of the court, § 1875. III Writings, SS 1887-1951. IV. Material objects presented to the senses, other than writings, § 1954. V. Indirect evidence, §§ 1957-1963. VI. Indispensable evidence, §§ 1967-1974. VII. Conclusive and unanswerable evidence, § 1978. [ 654 ] CHAPTER I. KNOWLEDGE OF THE COURT. § 1875. Certain facts of general notoriety assumed to be true. Speci. fication of such facts. § 1875. Courts take judicial notice of the following facts: 1. The true signification of all English words and phrases, and of all legal expressions; 2. Whatever is established by law; 3. Public and private official acts of the legislative, executive, and judicial departments of this State and of the United States; 4. The seals of all the courts of this State and of the United States; 5. The accession to office and the official signatures and seals of office of the principal officers of government in the legislative, executive, and judicial departments of this State and of the United States; 6. The existence, title, national flag, and seal of every State or sovereign recognized by the executive power of the United States; 7. The seals of courts of admiralty and maritime 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. JUDICIAL NOTICE. Subd. 1, Meaning of English words and phrases, etc.-41 Cal. 477; 49 Cal. 598; 51 Cal. 429. Subd. 2, Established by law-whatever is, Statutes, 30 Cal. 253: District Courts, before amdts. 1880, 17 Cal. 371; 37 Cal. 241; 42 Cal. 400; 48 Cal. 178. Subd. 3, Official acts of governmental departments-Congressional, 27 Cal. 167: of State Legislature, 43 Cal. 560; 52 Cal. 171: judicial department, before Code, 31 Cal. 229: private acts, before Code, 32 Cal. 447: removal of county seat, 47 Cal. 488. Subd. 4, Seals-patent, 14 Cal. 467. Subd. 5, Chief governmental officers-incumbency, signatures, seals: before Code, 15 Cal. 53; 32 Cal. 106. Subd. 8, Laws of nature, etc.-geographical divisions, 1 Cal. 9; 5 Cal. 140; 39 Cal. 40: streets of city, Whiting v. Quackenbush, March 13th, 1880, 5 Pac. C. L. J. 153. Books and documents-as aid see sec. 1936. CHAPTER II. WITNESSES. 1878. Witnesses defined. § 1879. All persons capable of perceptions and communication may be witnesses. § 1880. Persons who cannot testify. 1881. Persons in certain relations to parties prohibited. 1882. When privileged persons must testify. 1883. Judge or a juror may be witness. 1884. When an interpreter to be sworn. § 1878. A witness is a person whose declaration under oath is received as evidence for any purpose, whether such declaration be made on oral examination or by deposition or affidavit. Compare-sec. 2002. Oral examination-sec. 1846: general rules of, sec. 2042 et seq. Affidavit-secs. 2009-2015. § 1879. All persons, without exception, otherwise than is specified in the next two sections, who, having organs of sense, can perceive, and, perceiving, 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 eighteen hundred and forty-seven. Competency of witnesses-no exclusion for religious belief, 17 Cal. 612: nor for nationality or color, 45 Cal. 57: attorney as witness, 49 Cal. 382. Persons incompetent-to be witnesses, sec. 1880. § 1880. The following persons cannot be witnesses: 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; 3. Parties or assignors of parties to an action cr proceeding, or persons in whose behalf an action or proceeding is prosecuted, against an executor or administrator, upon a claim or demand against the estate of a deceased person, as to any matter of fact occurring before the death of such deceased person. [In effect April 16th, 1880.] SUBDIVISION 2. Children-10 Cal. 66. SUBDIVISION 3. Parties to action against executor, etc.-claim, for family allowance, inapplicable to, 52 Cal. 568: applies to nominal parties, 50 Cal. 420: party may testify in behalf of estate, 51 Cal. 618; 52 Cal. 336: depositions, when not admissible, 51 Cal. 101: assignors of parties, included by amdt. 1880; as to any matter, etc., before death, etc., added by amdt. 1880. § 1881. There are particular relations in which it is the policy of the law 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 afterward, 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 communications made to him in official confidence, when the public interests would suffer by the disclosure. SUBDIVISION 1. Husband-when may be witness against wife, 53 Cal. 425. SUBDIVISION 2. Attorney-privileged communications, 5 Cal. 450; 40 Cal. 284: not privileged, 23 Cal. 331; 29 Cal. 48; 36 Cal. 489: strict construction, 36 Cal. 489. SUBDIVISION 3. Confession to priest-privileged provision inap. plicable, Estate of Toomes, April 7th, 1880, 5 Pac, C. L. J. 286. § 1882 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the State of California is hereby repealed. In effect February 28th, 1876.] § 1883. 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. Justice-2 Cal. 360. Juror-48 Cal. 90. § 1884. When a witness does not understand and speak the English language, an interpreter 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. Interpreter-short-hand notes of testimony taken through, People v Lee Fat, April 8th, 1880, 5 Pac. C. L. J. 282. Subpoena-sec. 1985 et seq. Contempt-secs. 1209, 1219. |