Stewart v. Commonwealth

In this appeal, the initial question, one of first impression, is whether a husband may be convicted of grand larceny of his wife’s personal property. If we answer this question in the affirmative, we must then determine whether a decree of divorce from bed and board, entered after the date of the criminal offense but prior to trial, has the effect of permitting a wife to testify against her husband, over his objection, as a witness for the Commonwealth.

John Lloyd Stewart was tried by the court below, sitting without a jury, on an indictment charging him with grand larceny, on or about…