A principal act. or event being the object of investigation , the circumstances are the related or accessory facts or occurrences which attend upon it. which closely precede or follow it, which surround and accompany it, which depend upon it, or which support or qualify it Pfaffenbach v. Railroad, 142 Ind. 246, 41 N. E. 530; Clare v. People, 9 Colo. 122. 10 Pac. 799. The terms “circumstance” and “fact” are, in many applications, synonymous; but the true distinction of a circumstance is its relative character. “Any fact may be a circumstance with reference to any other fact.” 1 Benth. Jud. Evid. 42, note; Id. 142. Thrift, integrity, good repute , business capacity, and stability of character, for example, are “circumstances which may be very properly considered in determining the question of “adequate security.” Martin v. Duke, 5 Itedf. Sur. (N. Y.) 600.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
