Legal Papers of John Adams, volume 1
1767-05
Otis.2 Certificate of General Assembly.
Law very much altered of late Times.
To prevent Gothic Contentions and single Combats.
High Proceedings.
Strange 747.3 Order for Allom. Forgery at common Law.
Protection from a Member.
Possibility of Damage.
Reason of the Thing. Injury.
Paper indictable.
Public Record.
Q. If Cotton had forgd this Paper, whether he would have been liable to an Indictment for a Misdemeanor?4
4. Bac. 506.5
Made a false Record. Forgery of a Writ.
Great Slander and Defamation.
Court unanimous Nyes Words actionable.
In JA's hand. Adams Papers, Microfilms, Reel No. 185.
James Otis, counsel for Cotton.
Rex v. Ward, 2 Str. 747, 93 Eng. Rep. 824 (K.B. 1727): Trial for forging an order for a quantity of alum. Held: a criminal forgery even though it did not appear that defendant had actually obtained any alum as a result of the forgery.
This is apparently JA's query.
4 Bacon, Abridgment
506. The treatise at this point catalogues the actionability of various words, but does not mention forgery; see note