State v. . Fulton

Before pleading, the defendant, through his attorneys, moved to quash the bill of indictment for the reason that no offense was charged, it not being criminal offense for a husband to slander his wife. His Honor sustained the motion, quashed the bill of indictment, and the State appealed. It is admitted by the learned counsel for the State that this Court has long since decided that a husband is not indictable for slandering his wife under our statute, S. v. Edens, 95 N.C. 693, and we are asked to overrule that decision.

It was in 1886 that the eminent jurists who occupied this bench at that…