n committed, (b) that a guilty mind or
malice was present. The act may be one of omission or of commission.
Every person who commits a crime may be punished, unless he is under the
age of seven years, is insane, or has been made to commit it under
compulsion.

Crimes are divided into _misdemeanours_ and _felonies_. The distinction
is not very definite, but, as a rule, the former are less serious forms
of crime, and are punishable with a term of imprisonment, generally
under two years; while felonies comprise the more serious charges, as
murder, manslaughter, rape, which involve the capital sentence or long
terms of imprisonment.

An _offence_ is a trivial breach of the criminal law, and is punishable
on summary conviction before a magistrate or justices only, while the
more serious crimes (_indictable offences_) must be tried before a jury.

2. _Civil injuries_ differ from crimes in that the former are
compensated by damages awarded, while the latter are punished; any
person, whether injured or not, may prosecute for a crime, while only
the sufferer can sue for a civil injury. The Crown may remit punishment
for a crime, but not for a civil injury.

II.--MEDICAL EVIDENCE

On being called, the medical witness enters the witness-box and takes
the oath. This is very generally done by uplifting the right hand and
repeating the oath (Scottish form), or by kissing the Bible, or by
making a solemn affirmation.

1. He may be called to give _ordinary evidence_ as a _common witness_.
Thus he may be asked to detail the facts of an accident which he has
observed, and of the inferences he has deduced. This evidence is what
any lay observer might be asked.

2. _Expert Witness._--On the other hand, he may be examined on matters
of a technical or professional character. The medical man then gives
evidence of a skilled or expert nature. He may be asked his opinion on
certain facts narrated--_e.g._, if a certain wound would be immediately
fatal. Again, he may be asked whether he concurs with opinions held by
other medical authorities.

In important cases specialists are often called to give evidence of a
skilled nature. Thus the hospital surgeon, the nerve specialist, or the
mental consultant may be served with a subpoena to appear at court on a
certain date to give evidence. The evidence of such skilled observers
will, it is supposed, carry greater weight with the jury than would the
evidence of an ordinary practitioner