Justification of a Homicide.—The right to take life in defense of one's person, habitation, or property, or for the protection of those whom by the law of nature he is bound to protect, is founded on necessity; and when this defense is interposed in justification of a homicide, the first inquiry is as to the alleged.necessity.

Same.—If an officer in fresh pursuit of criminals comes suddenly upon several of them, and calls out “You are my prisoners—surrender;" and at the same time points a gun towards them, they are not justified in firing on him, or in taking Ms life.

Same.—If several persons commit a robbery, and immediately flee from the scene of it, and are pursued soon after by an officer, who overtakes them at a distance of ten or twelve miles from the place where the crime was committed, and is slain hy them in an attempt to arrest them, on the trial for the homicide the People may introduce evidence of the robbery, and the defendant's connection with itft

Proof of Intent with which Homicide was Committed.—In ascertaining the degree of guilt of one who has committed a homicide, it is important to determine the intent with which the act was done. The intent may be proved by evidence, direct or circumstantial, tending to establish the fact.

Act of One Conspirator the Act of All.—If several persons conspire together to commit a robbery, and to resist arrest even to the taking of life, and after the robbery is committed take the life of an officer in resisting an arrest, whatever is said or done by any one of them in furtherance of the common design is a ‘part

x v of the res gestse, and the act of all.

Notice by an Officer of his Official Character.'—Where a party is appre- • hended in the commission of an offense, or upon fresh pursuit afterwards, notice of the official character of the person attempting to make the arrest, or of the cause of the arrest, is not necessary.

Arrest without a Warrant.—A peace officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person for a felony he has committed—though not committed in the officer’s presence—when the criminal is fleeing from the scene of the crime.

Same.—The words “when he is pursued immediately after an escape" in the one hundred and thirty-seventh section of the Practice Act, are not used in the sense » of an escape from custody, but in the sense of flight from the scene of the crime; and the words “immediate pursuit/* are the same as “fresh pursuit” used in common law phrase in criminal cases,

What is Immediate or Fresh Pursuit of Criminals.—If, after the commission of a felony, the guilty parties flee to avoid an arrest, and within three or four hours are pursued by officers for the purpose of apprehending them, and the officers by diligent pursuit overtake them at a distance of twelve miles from the place where the crime was committed, this is an immediate or fresh pursuit of the criminals. ^

Statute defining Murder in the First Degree. — The adjectives “wilful” “deliberate,” and “premeditated,” considered in connection with the context in the phrase “or any other kind of wilful, deliberate, and premeditated killing,” found in that section of the Act concerning crimes and punishments defining murder in the first degree, arc merely cumulative and expressive of the same idea. Robbery.—If the Court in its charge to the jury characterizes the crime of robbery as an “ outrage,” it is not calculated to prejudice the cause of the defendant, or do him an injury.

Charge to Jury as to their Verdict. — To charge the jury that they “ have th

Definition of Murder.—Each of the phrases, “wilful killing,” “deliberate killing,” and “ premeditated killing,” standing in relation to the offense of murder, embraces, essentially, the legal idea of the other.