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On désigne par récusations pour cause celles qui sont fondées sur l’une des raisons sus-mentionnées. Le nombre en est illimité tant dans les procès civils que criminels. Mais, dans les affaires criminelles, ou du moins les crimes punissables de mort, on doit, in favorem vitae, permettre au prisonnier de faire un certain nombre de récusations arbitraires et capricieuses, sans établir aucune raison; c’est ce que l’on appelle une récusation péremptoire, une disposition pleine de cette tendresse et de cette humanité pour les prisonniers qui, à juste titre, rendent nos lois anglaises célèbres.
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353. Challenges upon any of the foregoing accounts are styled challenges for cause, which may be without stint in both criminal and civil trials. But in criminal cases, or at least in capital ones, there is, in favorem vitae, allowed to the prisoner an arbitrary and capricious species of challenge to a certain number of jurors, without showing any cause at all, which is called a peremptory challenge; a provision full of that tenderness and humanity to prisoners for which our English laws are justly famous. This is grounded on two reasons. L As every one must be sensible what sudden impressions and unaccountable prejudices we are apt to conceive upon the bare looks and gestures of another, and how necessary it is that a prisoner (when put to defend his life) should have a good opinion of his jury, the want of which might totally disconcert him, the law wills not that he should be tried by any one man against whom he has conceived a prejudice, even without being able to assign a reason for such his dislike. 2. Because, upon challenges for cause shown, if the reasons assigned prove insufficient to set aside the juror, perhaps the bare questioning his indifference may sometimes provoke a resentment, to prevent all ill consequences from which the prisoner is still at liberty, if he pleases, peremptorily to set him aside.
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