KFLCC Kingdom Law 2nd Ed.

942

PRIVILEGED

PRIVIGNUS

PRIVIGNUS. Lat. In the civil law. A son of a husband or wife by a former mar riage; a step-son. Calvin. A particular and peculiar benefit or advantage enjoyed by a person, company, or class, beyond the common ad vantages of other citizens. An exceptional or extraordinary power or exemption. A right, power, franchise, or immunity held by a person or class, against or beyond the course of the law. Privilege is an exemption from some bur den or attendance, with which certain persons are indulged, from a supposition of law that the stations they fill, or the offices they are engaged in, are such as require all their time and care, and that, therefore, without this in dulgence, it would be impracticable to execute such offices to that advantage which the pub lic good requires. See Lawyers' Tax Cases, 8 Heisk. (Tenn.) 649; U. S. v. Patrick (C. C.) 54 Fed. 348; Dike v. State, 38 Minn. 366, 38 N. W. 95; International Trust Co. v. American L. & T. Co., 62 Minn. 501, 65 N. W. 78; Com. v. Henderson, 172 Pa. 135, 33 Atl. 368; Tennessee v. Whitworth (C. C.) 22 Fed. 83; Morgan v. Louisiana, 93 U. S. 217, 23 L. Ed. 860; Corfield v. Coryell, 6 Fed. Cas. 551; State v. Oilman, 33 W. Va. 146, 10 S. E. 283, 6 L. R, A. 847. In the civil law. A right which the na ture of a debt gives to a creditor, and which entitles him to be preferred before other cred itors. Civil Code La. art 3186. In maritime law. An allowance to the master of a ship of the same general nature with primage, being compensation, or rather a gratuity, customary in certain trades, and which the law assumes to be a fair and equi table allowance, because the contract on both sides is made under the knowledge of such usage by the parties. 3 Chit. Commer. Law, 431. In the law of libel and slander. An ex emption from liability for the speaking or publishing of defamatory words concerning another, based on the fact that the statement was made in the performance of a duty, political, judicial, social, or personal. Privi lege is either absolute or conditional. The former protects the speaker or publisher with out reference to his motives or the truth or falsity of the statement. This may be claim ed in respect, for instance, to statements made in legislative debates, in reports of officers to their superiors in the line of their duty, and statements made by judges, wit nesses, and jurors in trials in court. Condi tional privilege will protect the speaker or publisher unless actual malice and knowledge of the falsity of the statement is shown. This may be claimed where the communica tion related to a matter of public interest, or where it was necessary to protect one's pri vate interest and was made to a person hav ing an interest in the same matter. Ram PRIVILEGE.

sey v. Cheek, 109 N. C. 270, 13 S. E. 775; Nichols v. Eaton, 110 Iowa, 509, 81 N. W. 792, 47 L. R. A. 483, 80 Am. St Rep. 319; Knapp & Co. v. Campbell, 14 Tex. Civ. App. 199, 36 S. W. 765; Hill v. Drainage Co., 79 Hun, 335, 29 N. Y. Supp. 427; Cooley v. Galyon, 109 Tenn. 1, 70 S. W. 607, 60 L. R. A. 139, 97 Am. St. Rep. 823; Ruohs v. Back er, 6 Heisk. (Tenn.) 405, 19 Am. Rep. 598; Cranfill v. Hayden, 97 Tex. 544, 80 S. W. 613. In parliamentary law. The right of a particular question, motion, or statement to take precedence over all other business be fore the house and to be considered imme diately, notwithstanding any consequent in terference with or setting aside the rules of procedure adopted by the house. The mat ter may be one of "personal privilege," where it concerns one member of the house in his capacity as a legislator, or of the "privilege of the house," where it concerns the rights, immunities, or dignity of the entire body, or of "constitutional privilege," where it relates to some action to be taken or some order of proceeding expressly enjoined by the consti tution. —Privilege from arrest. A privilege ex tended to certain classes of persons, either by the rules of international law, the policy of the law, or the necessities of justice or of the ad ministration of government, whereby they are exempted from arrest on civil process, and, in some cases, on criminal charges, either perma nently, as in the case of a foreign minister and his suite, or temporarily, as in the case of members of the legislature, parties and witnesses engaged in a particular suit, etc.— Privilege tax. A tax on the privilege of carrying on a business for which u license or franchise is .required. Adams v. Colonial Mortgage Co., 82 Miss. 263, 34 South. 482, 100 Am. St. Rep. 633: Gulf & Ship Island R. Co. v. Hewes, 183 U. S. 66, 22 Sup. Ct. 26, 46 L. Ed. 86; St. Louis v. Western Union Tel. Co.. 148 U. S. 92, 13 Sup. Ct. 485, 37 L. Ed. 380.— Real priv ilege. In English law. A privilege granted to, or concerning, a particular place or locality. —Special privilege. In constitutional law. A right, power, franchise, immunity, or privi lege granted to, or vested in, a person or class of persons, to the exclusion of others, and in derogation of common right. See City of Elk Point v. Vaughn, 1 Dak. 118, 46 N. W. 577; Ex parte Douglass, 1 Utah, 111.— Writ of privilege. A process to enforce or maintain a privilege; particularly to secure the re lease of a person arrested in a civil suit con trary to his privilege. Possessing or enjoying a privilege; exempt from burdens; entitled to priority or precedence. — Privileged communications. See COM MUNICATION.— Privileged copyholds. See COPYHOLD.— Privileged debts. Those which an executor or administrator may pay in prefer ence to others; such as funeral expenses, serv ants' wages, and doctors' bills during last sick ness, etc.— Privileged deed. In Scotch law. An instrument, for example, a testament, in the execution of which certain statutory for malities usually required are dispensed with, either from necessity or expediency. Ersk. Inst. 3. 2, 22; Bell.— Privileged villenage. In old English law. A species of villenage in which the tenants held by certain and deter minate services; otherwise called "villein-soc- PRIVILEGED.