STATE'S EVIDENCE, the term used in the United States for evidence given by an accomplice upon promise of pardon.
the English translation of (I) the etats-generaux of France and (2) the staten-generaal of the Dutch Netherlands. The name in both cases signifies the assembly of the estates of the realm, as distinct from provincial assemblies of estates; it is thus the equivalent of the English parliament, of the Cortes in Spain, or the diet of the Holy Roman Empire, which the states-general resembled in their original constitution.
In France the states-general were first summoned, in 1302, by Philip IV. for the purpose of giving him moral support in his quarrel with Pope Boniface VIII. They consisted of representa tives of the three orders of clergy, nobles and commons (tiers itat, third estate), an arrangement which survived to the end, though their composition, as well as their effective powers varied greatly at different times. For various reasons (notably the Hun dred Years' War and the religious wars of the 16th century) they never secured the power over taxation and legislation early ob tained by the English parliament, and after 1614 they were never summoned until when they transformed themselves into the National Constituent Assembly. This Assembly consisted of the
representatives of the three orders sitting together, but the states general had ceased to exist (see FRANCE: History).
In the Netherlands the convocation of the states-general, con sisting of delegates from the provincial estates, dates from about the middle of the 15th century, under the rule of the dukes of Burgundy. The name was transferred, after the separation of the northern Netherlands from the Spanish dominions, to the representatives elected by the seven sovereign provincial estates for the general government of the United Provinces. The states general, in which the voting was by provinces (each province hav ing one vote) was established from 1593 at The Hague. The states-general came to an end after the revolution in 1795, with the convocation of the National Assembly (March 1, 1796). (See HOLLAND : History.)