State v. . Spurling
Supreme Court of North Carolina
INDICTMENT for slander of an innocent woman, tried before Sobinson, T, at Pali Term, 1895, of Swain Superior Court. There was evidence of slanderous words spoken by-defendant concerning prosecutrix, amounting to a charge of incontinence. Defendant offered evidence tending to prove that prosecutrix was not an innocent woman when he used the language charged.
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INDICTMENT for slander of an innocent woman, tried before Sobinson, T, at Pali Term, 1895, of Swain Superior Court. There was evidence of slanderous words spoken by-defendant concerning prosecutrix, amounting to a charge of incontinence. Defendant offered evidence tending to prove that prosecutrix was not an innocent woman when he used the language charged. Prosecutrix was examined by the State, and, after such examination, a witness was put on by the State who testified that the prosecutrix’s character was good up to the time this trouble began. On cross-examination, this witness was asked…
1Opinion of the Court
Avery, J.:
The rule that a defendant, on the trial of a criminal indictment against him, may offer evidence of his good character, was established after no little discussion and this right, at his option, to put his general reputation in issue, was eventually conceded, because it was argued that such testimony tended to raise a presumption of innocence. But it"was held in State v. Johnson, 1 Winston, 151, that such evidence ought to be confined to the time when the charge was first made, because a different rule would expose a defendant to the great danger of having his character ruined or…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- State v. . EflerSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1881
- State v. . LawhornSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1883
- State v. . DavisSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1885
3Cited by8 opinions
- State v. . KnottsSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1914
- State v. . HollySupreme Court of North Carolina · 1911
- State v. . MaslinSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1928
- State v. . WilcoxSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1934
- State v. McCormickSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1979
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