Carter v. State
Supreme Court of Alabama
Erom the Circuit Court of Butler. Tried before the Hon. John K. Henry. Tbe defendant in this case was tried and convicted under an indictment which charged, that he “ did carnally know, or abuse in the attempt to carnally know, Mary Godwin, a female under the age of ten years.”
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Erom the Circuit Court of Butler. Tried before the Hon. John K. Henry. Tbe defendant in this case was tried and convicted under an indictment which charged, that he “ did carnally know, or abuse in the attempt to carnally know, Mary Godwin, a female under the age of ten years.” On his trial, he reserved a bill of exceptions to several rulings of the court; one of which was the admission of the child, Mary Godwin, as a witness, against his objection, under the facts stated in the bill of exceptions, which are also stated in the opinion of the court.
1Opinion of the Court
MANNING, J. —
The rule insisted on in all the books is, that “ the admissibility of children as witnesses depends, not merely upon their possessing a competent degree of understanding, but also, in part, upon their having received such a degree of religious instruction as not to be ignorant of the nature of an oath, or of the consequences of falsehood.” 1 Phillipps on Ev., 4th Amer. Ed. with Cowen & Hill’s notes, 11, 12. In Rex v. Williams (7 Car. & P. 320), a child eight years old, who, up to the time of the event of which she was to testify, had received no religious training, nor had ever…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Commonwealth v. HutchinsonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1813
3Cited by20 opinions
- Noble v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1950
- State v. KingSupreme Court of Iowa · 1902
- McGuff v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1889
- Commonwealth v. ReaganMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1900
- State v. MeyerSupreme Court of Iowa · 1907
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