State v. . Wilcox

If a defendant in a criminal action voluntarily testifies in his own behalf, does the law “presume when a man is being tried for crime, that he is naturally laboring under a temptation to testify to whatever he thinks may be necessary to clear himself of the charge,” and in scrutinizing his testimony in order to determine its credibility and weight, must the jury take “into consideration what a conviction would mean to him and the temptation under which he labors to' swear to whatever he thinks is necessary to clear himself?”

The trial judge charged the jury as follows:

“Another rule of law it…