Bird v. Commonwealth
Supreme Court of Virginia
At the July term, 1871, of the Corporation court of the city of Alexandria, Thomas H. Bird was indicted for bigamy; for this, that on the 16th of January'1868, in the city of "Washington, in the District of Columbia, he married Mary Broden; and afterwards, she being still living, on the 1st of March 1871, in the city of Alexandria, he married Henrietta Godwin.
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At the July term, 1871, of the Corporation court of the city of Alexandria, Thomas H. Bird was indicted for bigamy; for this, that on the 16th of January'1868, in the city of "Washington, in the District of Columbia, he married Mary Broden; and afterwards, she being still living, on the 1st of March 1871, in the city of Alexandria, he married Henrietta Godwin. At the same term of the court he was tried and found guilty, and the jury fixed the term of his imprisonment in the penitentiary at three years ; and the court sentenced him accordingly. On the trial the prisoner’s counsel asked for…
1Opinion of the CourtStaples, J.
This case comes before us upon a writ of error to the judgment of the Corporation court for the city of Alexandria. The prisoner was indicted in that court for bigamy. On the trial he offered to prove that his first wife was a common prostitute ; that his marriage with her was the result of a conspiracy between herself and one Cooke and others, by which the ceremony was performed against his will and under duress imposed upon him. To the introduction of this evidence the attorney for the Commonwealth objected : the objection was sustained; and the prisoner excepted.
The evidence being closed,…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Oneale v. CommonwealthSupreme Court of Virginia · 1867