Gilchrist v. M'Kee
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
ERROR to Westmoreland county. This was an issue directed by the court to try the right to money in the hands of the sheriff made out of the sale of the real estate of Joseph Ford, in which John M’Kee was plaintiff and Robert Gilchrist defendant; the facts of which are fully stated in the former-report of the case, in M’Kee v. Gilchrist, 3 Watts 230. The only question now determined arose out of these facts: Mary Ford was called by the plaintiff as a witness and gave…
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ERROR to Westmoreland county. This was an issue directed by the court to try the right to money in the hands of the sheriff made out of the sale of the real estate of Joseph Ford, in which John M’Kee was plaintiff and Robert Gilchrist defendant; the facts of which are fully stated in the former-report of the case, in M’Kee v. Gilchrist, 3 Watts 230. The only question now determined arose out of these facts: Mary Ford was called by the plaintiff as a witness and gave evidence; the defendant proposed to give evidence of her general character for chastity. The plaintiff objected, and the' court…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
Gibson, C. J.
—It was decided in The Commonwealth v. Murphy, 14 Mass. Rep. 387, that the credit of a female witness may be impeached by evidence of prostitution; but the propriety of the decision has been questioned by the same court, if not denied, in The Commonwealth v. Moore, 3 Pickering 196; and the precise point was ruled differently in Jackson ex dem. Boyd v. Lewis, 13 Johns. 504. By our own court it was held, in Brindle v. M’Ilvaine, 10 Serg. & Rawle 282, that a witness may not be discredited by reputed want of sobriety. The case, however, did…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Jackson ex dem. Boyd v. LewisNew York Supreme Court · 1816
- Brindle v. M'IlvaineSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1823
- Terril v. CockerilCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1814
3Cited by19 opinions
- Commonwealth v. QuarantaSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1928
- People v. RectorNew York Supreme Court · 1838
- State v. FortneySupreme Court of North Carolina · 1980
- Fletcher v. StateIndiana Supreme Court · 1874
- State v. LarkinNevada Supreme Court · 1876
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