Beale v. Commonwealth
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Error to the Court of Oyer and Terminer and Quarter Sessions of Philadelphia county. On tbe 27th October, 1854, in the Court of Oyer and Terminer for the city and county of -Philadelphia, the plaintiff in error was found guilty of a rape upon Narcissa Emmeline Mudge. A new trial was refused 24th November, 1854, and on the 28th November the defendant was sentenced, as stated below.
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Error to the Court of Oyer and Terminer and Quarter Sessions of Philadelphia county. On tbe 27th October, 1854, in the Court of Oyer and Terminer for the city and county of -Philadelphia, the plaintiff in error was found guilty of a rape upon Narcissa Emmeline Mudge. A new trial was refused 24th November, 1854, and on the 28th November the defendant was sentenced, as stated below. On the 22d March, 1855, he applied to this Court for a writ of error, which was allowed on special cause shown. In the trial of the case below the record states that the jury were sworn to “ try the guilt or…
1Opinion of the Court
The following opinions were delivered.
Woodward, J. —
This writ of error was allowed for the purpose *17of raising but two questions, the first of which is, Does it sufficiently appear from the record that the jury were duly sworn or affirmed ?
We have no statute that prescribes the form of the juror’s oath in criminal cases; but in capital cases, and in cases that ever were capital in Pennsylvania, we have retained the common law form of oath, which is as follows: “ You do swear that you will well and truly try, and true deliverance mahe between the Commonwealth and the prisoner at the bar whom…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Kane v. PeopleCourt for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · 1831
3Cited by38 opinions
- Com. Ex Rel. Paige v. Smith, WardenSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1938
- State v. SorrentinoWyoming Supreme Court · 1924
- Commonwealth Ex Rel. Holly v. AsheSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1951
- Bryant v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1914
- Commonwealth v. DownerSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1947
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