incompetency

A relative term without technical meaning. It may be employed as meaning disqualification; inability; incapacity; lack of ability, legal qualifications, or fitness to discharge the required duty,' and includes a teacher's deliberate and insubordinate refusal to answer the questions of his administrative superior in a vitally important matter pertaining to his fitness

Of Officers. Lack of ability or fitness to discharge the required duty. Judges and jurors are said to be incompetent from having an interest in the subject matter. A judge is also incompetent to give judgment in a matter not within his jurisdiction. See "Jurisdiction." Of Witness. Want of legal capacity to testify. Of Evidence. Not proper to be received. Incompetency relates to the evidence itself, not to the fact to be proved thereby. In French Law. Inability or insufficiency of a judge to try a cause brought before him, proceeding from lack of jurisdiction.

Lack of ability or fit^ ness to discharge the required duty. Judges and jurors are said to be incompetent from having an Interest in the subjectmatter. See Judge; Jubt. In Evidence. A witness may be at common law incompetent on account of a want of understanding,, a defect of religious belief, a conviction of certain crimes, infamy of character, or interest; 1 Phill. Ev. 15. The last ground of Incompetency is removed to a considerable degree in most states; and the sec-

Lack of ability, legal qualification or fitness to discharge the required duty. In re Leonard's Estate, 95 Mich. 295, 54 NW. 1082; In re Cohn, 78 N. Y. 252; Stephenson v. Stephenson, 49 N. C. 473 ; Nehrling v. State, 112 Wis, 637, 88 N. W. 610. In New York, the word "incompetency" is used in a special sense to designate the condition or legal status of a person who is unable or unfitted to manage his own affairs by reason of insanity, imbecllity, or feeble-mindedness, and for whom, therefore, a committee may be appointed; and such a person la designated an "incompetent" See Co.de Civ. Proc. N. Y. § 2320 et seq.; In re Curtiss, 134 App. Div. 547, 119 N. Y. Supp. 556; In re Fox, 138 App. Div. 43, 122 N. Y. Supp. 889. As applied to evidence, the word "incompetent" means not proper to be received; inadmissible, as distinguished from that which the court should admit for the consideration of the jury, though they may not find it worthy of credence.

In French law. Inability or insufficiency of a judge to try a cause brought before him, proceeding from lack of jurisdiction.

Want of competency, — applied to evidence.

Lack of ability, legal qualification, or fitness to discharge the required duty.. As applied to evidence, tle word “incompetent” means not proper to be received; inadiuissible, as distinguished from that which the court should admit for the consideration of the jury, though they may not find it worthy of credence.

In French law. Inability or insufficiency of a judge to try a cause brought before him, proceeding from lack of jurisdiction.

evidence, is the want of legal ability in a witness to be heard as such on the trial of a cause. The objections to the competency (q. v-) of a witness are fourfold. The first ground is the want of understanding; a second is defect of religious principles; a third arises from the conviction of certain crimes or infamy of character; the fourth is on account of interest, (q. v.) 1 Phil. Ev. 15.