Hooven v. Hooven

Harrington, J.,

delivering the opinion of the court:

The question is whether a marriage certificate, issued by the officiating minister and delivered by him to one of the contracting parties more than six months after the marriage and after the person to whom it had been delivered had finally separated from her husband is admissible in evidence.

Independent of statute, a marriage certificate, standing alone, is similar in effect to a letter from a third person; by reason of the rule excluding hearsay evidence, such a certificate is, therefore, not admissible as direct and original evidence of…