Commonwealth v. Pollard
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
This was an indictment which charged the defendant with perjury on the trial, in the court of common pleas, in July 1845, of an action of trespass for taking and carrying away goods, in which action Albert Nickerson was plaintiff, and Watson Freeman was defendant.
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This was an indictment which charged the defendant with perjury on the trial, in the court of common pleas, in July 1845, of an action of trespass for taking and carrying away goods, in which action Albert Nickerson was plaintiff, and Watson Freeman was defendant. The indictment alleged that, on said trial, “it was and became a material question, whether the said Pollard was interested in the event of that action and trial, and also whether he had any interest in the suit and action of Bent and others against Turner and another, then pending; and also whether, in the evening of the eighteenth…
1Opinion of the CourtHubbard, J.
As to the first exception, it is contended that the words, which are alleged to have been spoken, must be proved by two witnesses, as well as the fact that they were false. In support of this position, it is argued that the crime of perjury is a single act, and that what the party testified to cannot be separated from the false swearing; and it being the design of the law, prescribing the testimony necessary to convict of perjury, to protect the accused against conviction upon the testimony of a single witness, the protection-fails, if the words alleged to be spoken may be proved upon such…
2Cited by5 opinions
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