Kirby v. Commonwealth

The question presented by this appeal involves the application of Code § 19.2-271.2, which deals with the “[tjestimony of husband and wife in criminal cases.” The appeal results from the trial of a two-count indictment returned against the defendant, John Powhatan Kirby, Jr., in the Circuit Court of Campbell County.

In Count 1 of the indictment, the defendant was charged with unlawfully and feloniously discharging “a firearm within a building when occupied by one or more persons whereby their lives or life were put in peril,” in violation of Code § 18.2-279. In Count 2, the defendant was…