CHANCE-MEDLEY, noun In law, the killing of a person by chance, when the killer is doing a lawful act; for if he is doing an unlawful act, it is felony. As if a man, when throwing bricks from a house into a street where people are continually passing, after giving warning to passengers to take care, should kill a person, this is chance-medley But if he gives no warning, and kills a man, it is manslaughter.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI