Bass v. Southward

By JUDGE ROBERT LEWIS YOUNG

I am of the opinion that the issue as to whether or not the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence was properly submitted to the jury. The question that concerns me is whether it was error to allow the plaintiff to prove that the defendant had pleaded guilty, or whatever he did, to the traffic charge growing out of the accident.

The rule in the local courts as far back as I can remember has been that in a civil case based upon negligence, when the defendant pleads and testifies that he was not guilty of any such negligence, his plea of guilty to a traffic…