Boche v. State

I cannot assent to the holding in this case. It seems to me that the state ought not to have been permitted to contradict Mackay’s testimony on cross-examination to the effect that he had repeated to certain individuals the statements he claimed Jarmer had made to him preceding the tragedy. The cross-examination was upon a subject collateral to the inquiry, and the state was bound by the answers given. The principle is stated in Attorney General v. Hitchcock, 1 Weis., H. & G. Exch. (Eng.) *91: “The test whether the matter is collateral or not is this: If the answer of a witness is a matter which…