Competency

The legal fitness or ability of a witness to be heard on the trial of a cause That quality of written or other evidence which renders it proper to be given on the trial of a cause. There Is a difference between competency and credibility. A wituess may be competent, and, on examination, his story may be so contradictory and Improbable that he may not be believed; on the contrary, he may be Incompetent, and yet be perfectly credible If he were examined. The court are the sole judges of the competency of a mtnesa, and may, for the purpose of deciding whether the witness is or is not competent, ascertain ail the essary to form a judgment; 1 Greenl. Ev. § J 'ri ma fade every person offered is a competent witness, ami must be received, unless his incompetency appears; 0 State Tr. <'>r>2. In French Law. The right in a court to exercise jurisdiction in a particular case: as. where the law gives jurisdiction to the court when a thousand francs shall be in dispute, the court is competent if the sum demanded is a thousand francs or upwards, although tbe plaintiff may ultimately recover less.

In the law of evidence. The presenco of those characteristics or the absence of those disabilities, which render a witness legally fit and qualified to give testimony in a court of justico. The term is also applied, in the same sense, to documents or other written evidence. Competency differs from credibility. The former is a question which arises before considering the evidence given by the witness; the latter concerns the degrce of credit to be given to his story. The former denotes the personal qualification of the witness; the latter his veracity. A witness may Be competent, and yet give incredible testimony; he may be incompetent, and yet his evidence, if received, be perfectly credible. Competency is for the court; credibllity for the jury. Yet in some cases the term "credible" is used as an equivalent for "competent." Thus, in a statute relating to the execution of wills, the term "credible witness" is held to mean one who is entitled to be examined and to give evidence in a court of justice; not necessarily one who is personally worthy of belief, but one who is not disqualified by imbecility, interest, crime, or other cause. 1 Jarm. Wills, 124; Smith v. Jones, 68 Vt 132, 34 Atl. 424; Com. v. Holmes, 127 Mass. 424, 34 Am. Rep. 391.

In French law. Competency, as applied to a court, means its right to exercise jurisdiction in a particular case.

Legal ability, fitness or qualification; admissibility in evidence; propriety or sufficiency as a legal remedy.

evidence, is the legal ability of a witness to be heard on the trial of a cause. This term is also applied to written or other account books, and the like. Prima facie every person offered is a competent witness, and must be received unless his incompetency (q. v-) appears. 9 State Tr. 652. ‘There is a difference between competency and credibility. A witness may be competent, and, on examination, his story may be so contradictory and improbable that he may not be believed; on the contrary he may be incompetent, for example, on account of interest, and be perfectly credible if he were examined. The court are the sole judges of the competency of a witness, and may, for the purpose of deciding whether the witness is or is not competent, ascertain all the facts necessary to form a judgment.