Excuse

A reason alleged for the domade In order to show that the party accused is not guilty; In another, by showing that though guilty he is less so than he appears to be. T. ample, the case of a sheriff who has an execution lual, and who, in performance of his duty, arrests him: in an action by the defendant against the sheriff, the latter may prove the facts, and this shall be a sufficient excuse for him; this is an excuse of the first kind, or a complete justification; the sheriff was guilty of no offence. But suppose, secondly, that the sheriff has an execution against Paul, and by mistake, and without any malicious design, he arrests Peter instead of Paul: the fact of his having the execution against Paul and the mistake being made will not justify the )!• riff, but it will extenuate and excuse his conduct, and this will be an excuse of the second kind. Persons are sometimes excused for the commission of acts which oidinarily are crimes, either because they had no intention of doing wrong, or because they had no power of judging, and therefore had no criminal will, or, having power of judging, they had no choice, and were compelled by necessity. Among the first class may be placed infants under the age of discretion, lunatics, and married women committing certain offences in the presence of their husbands. Among acts of the second kind may be classed the beating or killing another in self-defence, the destruction of property in order to prevent a more serious calamity, as the tearing down of a house on fire to prevent its spreading U the neighboring property, and the like.

See Dalloz, Diet. EXCUSSI0 (Lat.).

In Civil Law. Exhausting the principal debtor before proceeding against the surety. Discussion is used in the same sense in Scotch law. Vicat, Excussionis Beneficium.