Blacks Law Dict. 1st ed

483

FELLOW-SERVANTS

FEME SOLE

Persons who are employed under the same mas ter, derive authority and compensation from the same common source, and are engaged in the same general business, although one is a foreman of the work and the other a common laborer, are fellow servants. 76 Ma 143. Where two servants are employed by the same master, labor under the same control, derive their authority and receive their compensation from a common source, and are engaged in the same busi ness, though in different departments of the com mon service, they are fellow-servants. 63 Tex. 597. FELO DE SE. A felon of himself; a •uicide or murderer of himself. One who deliberately and intentionally puts an end to his own life, or who commits some unlawful or malicious act which results in his own death. FELON. One who has committed felony; one convicted of felony. FELONIA. Felony. The act or offense by which a vassal forfeited his fee. Spelman; Calvin. Per feloniam, with a criminal in tention. Co. Litt. 391. Felonia, ex vi termini signiflcat quod libet capitale crimen felleo animo per petratum. Co. Litt. 391. Felony, by force of the term, signifies any capital crime per petrated with a malignant mind. Felonia implicatur in qualibet pro ditione. 3 Inst. 15. Felony is implied in every treason. FELONICE. Feloniously. Anciently an indispensable word in indictments for felony, and classed by Lord Coke among those voces artis (words of art) which cannot be expressed by any periphi asis or circumlo cution. 4 Coke, 39; Co. Litt. 391a; 4 Bl. Comm. 307. FELONIOUS HOMICIDE. In crimi nal law. The offense of killing a human creature, of any age or sex, without justifi cation or excuse. There are two degrees of this offense, manslaughter and murder. 4 Bl. Comm. 188, 190; 4 Steph. Comm. 108, 111. FELONIOUSLY. An indispensable word in modern indictments for felony, as felonice was in the Latin forms. 4 Bl. Comm. 307. FELONY. In English law. This term meant originally the state of having forfeit ed lands and goods to the crown upon con viction for certain offenses, and then, by transition, any offense upon conviction for vhich such forfeiture followed, in addition

to any other punishment prescribed bylaw; as distinguished from a "misdemeanor," upon conviction for which no forfeiture fob lowed. All indictable offenses are either felonies or misdemeanors, but a material part of the distinction is taken away by St. 33 & 34 Viet. c. 23, which abolishes forfeit ure for felony. Wharton. In American law. The term hasno very definite or precise meaning, except in some cases where it is defined by statute. For the most part, the state laws, in describing any particular offense, declare whether or not it shall be considered a felony. Apart from this, the word seems merely to imply a crime of a graver or more atrocious nature than those designated as "misdemeanors." The statutes or codes of several of the states define felony as any public offense on conviction of which the offender is liable to be sentenced to death or to imprisonment in a penitentiary or state prison. Pub. St. Mass. 1882, p. 1290; Code Ala. 1886, § 3701; Code Ga. 1882, § 3404; 34 Ohio St. 301; 1 Wis. 188; 2 Bev. St. N. Y. p. 587, § 30; 1 Park. Crim. B. 39. In feudal law. An act or offense on the part of the vassal, which cost him his fee, or in consequence of which his fee fell into the hands of his lord; that is, became for feited. (See FELONIA.) Perfidy, ingrati tude, or disloyalty to a lord. FELONY ACT. The statute 33 & 34 Viet. c. 23, abolishing forfeitures for felony, and sanctioning the appointment of interim curators and administrators of the property of felons. Mozley & Whitley; 4 Steph. Comm. 10, 459. FELONY, COMPOUNDING OF. See COMPOUNDING FELONY. FEMALE. The sex which conceives and gives birth to young. Also a member of such sex. FEME. L. Fr. A woman. In the phrase "baron et feme" (q. v.) the word has the sense of "wife." FEME COVERT. A married woman. Generally used in reference to the legal dis abilities of a married woman, as compared with the condition of a feme sole. FEME SOLE. A single woman, includ ing those who have been married, but whose marriage has been dissolved by death or di vorce, and, for most purposes, those women who are judicially separated from their hus

Archive CD Books USA