Perry v. . People of the State of New York
New York Court of Appeals
Error to the General Term of the Supreme Court in the first judicial department, to review judgment entered upon an order made September 1, 1879, which affirmed a judgment of the Court of General Sessions in and for the city and county of New York, entered upon a verdict convicting the plaintiff in error of the crime of assault and battery upon one Dorauss with intent to kill.
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Error to the General Term of the Supreme Court in the first judicial department, to review judgment entered upon an order made September 1, 1879, which affirmed a judgment of the Court of General Sessions in and for the city and county of New York, entered upon a verdict convicting the plaintiff in error of the crime of assault and battery upon one Dorauss with intent to kill. Upon the trial Dorauss who, was the material witness for the prosecution, in answer to questions of the prisoner’s counsel to which no objections were interposed, testified that he had been convicted of burglary and…
1Opinion of the CourtRapallo, J.
The Revised Statutes (2 R. S. 701, § 23) provide that no person sentenced upon a conviction for felony shall be competent to testify in a cause, matter or proceeding, civil or criminal, unless he be pardoned by the governor or by the legislature, except in the cases specially provided by law.
The Code of Civil Procedure, as passed in 1876 and amended in 1877 and 1878, provides (§ 832) that “a person who has been convicted of a crime or misdemeanor is, notwithstanding, a competent witness; but the conviction may be proved for the purpose of affecting the weight of his testimony.”
This section…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- People v. HerrickNew York Supreme Court · 1816
- Leggett v. . the Bank of Sing SingNew York Court of Appeals · 1862
- Hilts v. ColvinNew York Supreme Court · 1817
3Cited by2 opinions
- Werner v. StateSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1884
- Belcher v. King and ParrWest Virginia Supreme Court · 1924