Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 22.pdf/725

 691

Some Defects in a Criminal Code medical corps, and thus in the Calas case the expert selected was the execu

time it comprises all the branches of the science of medicine. Thus, in the ﬁrst

tioner. I would also add, that the old Faculty of Medicine of Paris was far

place it was only based on anatomical

more occupied in maintaining its rights

entered for a large share, particularly in toxicology. The important branch of

than in contributing to the progress of science, and consequently oﬁered no course of instruction in legal medicine.

knowledge,

but

later on chemistry

mental disease was developed by the magniﬁcent work of Pinel, Esquirol, and

But towards the end of the eighteenth

their successors. Later on forensic medi

century, a series of occurrences of a. legislation and resulted in the introduc

cine came into possession of new arms— we refer to the microscope and spectro scope, which developed the almost cer

tion of a great many things favoring the

tain detection and the nature of spots

development of forensic medicine. The abolition, by Louis XVI, of the prepara

and stains-and ﬁnally thanatology made its appearance. In 1821, Orﬁla

tory question in 1773, and of torture on May 13, 1778, was the premonitory sign of a change which would take place in

contributed very greatly to the progress

political and social order changed the

of toxicology by his experiments and judicious criticism, while Devergie (1798

the criminal legislation in France, and

1876), by the precision of his researches

it is well known that the Revolution

made a great step towards certainty in the practice of forensic medicine. From

precipitated the event. In 1797, Fodéré published the ﬁrst treatise on forensic medicine which ap peared in France. This book, which was at the same time both philosophical and practical, was the foundation of

modern legal medicine in France, just

as the work by Zacchias had been in Germany the starting point of the de velopment of this science. With the advent of Fodéré, forensic medicine be came deﬁnitely engaged in a scientiﬁc direction, and at the same time com pleted and extended its domain, passing

by successive phases until at the present

1818 to 1879 the great Tardieu developed a large number of medico-legal questions, and his teachings had an immense influ ence on the development of medico-legal studies throughout the world. These have been continued and developed in

Germany by Casper, Machska, Eulen berg, Liman, and Kraft-Ebing; by Hoff mann of Vienna‘, in England by Thomp

son, Guy, Taylor and Christison, while

prominent in the modern Italian school I would particularly recall the names of Cresshio, Tamassia, Morselli, Tamburini, Zinc and the regretted Lornbroso.

Boston, Mass.

Some Defects in a Criminal Code T the annual meeting of the Missouri Bar Association held last July, North T. Gen try of Columbia, Mo., read an able paper on "Some Defects in Our Criminal Code and How to Remedy Them." The following extracts are given:— “First. The ﬁrst defect to which I would

call your attention is that of requiring in dictments, especially in cases of homicide, to be so lengthy. . . . Our courts have often held that the probata must agree with the allegata, and many have been the cases where

reversals have been had because there was no such agreement. Yet no one ever heard