Turpitude

Everything done contrary to justice, honesty, modesty, or good morals, is said to be done with turpitude. TUTELA (Lat.). A power given by the defend himself. Women by the civil law could only be tutors of their own children. A child under the power of his father was not subject to tutelage, because not a free person, caput liberum. Legitima tutela was where the tutor was appointed by the magistrate.

I. Baseness; infamy; immorality; turpitude, v. Nemo allegaiis, etc.

Doing a thing against good morals, honesty, or justice; unlawful conduct; infamy. Latin, turpitude. Allegaus suam turpitudinem non est audiendus. One alleging his own infamy is not to be listened to. Nemo allegans suam turpitudinem est audiendus. No one who avers his own infamy is to be heard. A person cannot escape fulfilling an obligation by alleging bad conduct on his part. The maxim states the rule applied to a party who seeks to enforce a right founded upon an illegal or criminal consideration. Where there is turpitude, the law will help neither party. => The meaning is that no one shall be heard in a court of justice to allege his own turpitude as a foimdation of a right or claim; not, that a man shall not be heard who testifies to his own turpitude or criminality, however much his testimony may be discredited by his character. In Walton v. Slielley (1 T. R. 300), where an indorser was held not to be competent to prove that a note was void for usury in its inception, the maxim was plainly misapplied by Lord Mansfield. That was in 1786. In 1798, Lord Kenyon being chief justice, that case was overruled by Joxdaine v. Lashbrooke (7 T. R. 601, 609), as to all instruments. The States are divided between the two cases. But the tendency is to disreg'ard all objections to the competency of witnesses, and to allow their position and character to affect only their credibility. Where Walton V. Shelley is adopted, the rule is limited to negotiable instruments. A holder cannot invoke protection against an infirmity he has aided to create. But the rule is not applicable to a case between the original parties, where the paper had not been put into circulation and each party was cognizant of all the facts.' There are many cases in which witnesses are admitted, though not compelled, to prove facts which show their turpitude; £is, in the case of a particeps criminis, when credibility is for the j my. The maxim is more applicable to parties. See Lkgal, Illegal.*, > Commonwealth v. Wilkinson, 16 Pick. IW (1634), Shaw, C. J. See also Heyward v. New York, 8 Barb. 402 (1850). 2 Trist V. Child, 21 Wall. 4.52 (18741. 'Davis U.Brown, 94' U. S. 425-27(1875), Field, J.; 2 Best, Ev, §§ 545-46. * Winton v. Saidler, 3 Johns. Cas. *]89, 192 (1802), Kent, J.; Powell v. Waters, 17 Johns. *180(1819); Fox V. Whitney, IB Mass. *121 a819); Gould v. Gould, 3 TUTOE; TUTRIX. In civil law, a person to whom is committed the care and custody of the person and estate of a minor. Tutrix is the feminine form of the word. Lest the interests of ward and tutor become opposed, the court in Louisiana appoints an " under-tutor " to act for the ward. I See Committee;; Guardian.