State v. Jones
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
The case was presented on exceptions, taken by Jones, to the ruling excluding the testimony of the co-defendant,__1 on his trial.
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was drawn up by
Kent, J.
The respondents were jointly indicted for inciting one Pendextor to set fire to and burn a building. On arraignment, Pike pleaded guilty and Jones pleaded not guilty. On the trial of Jones, he offered Pike as a witness, who, being objected to by the government, was excluded by the presiding Judge. To this exclusion, Jones filed his exceptions.
The general rule of law is, that parties to the record, in a criminal case, cannot be witnesses for each other. The recent statute, (1861, c. 53,) removes all objection to the witness on the ground of…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- People v. BillNew York Supreme Court · 1813
- People v. WilliamsNew York Supreme Court · 1838
3Cited by1 opinion
- Wolfson v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1900