Hicks v. Bradner
New York Court of Appeals
This action was brought to^recover damages of defendant for criminal conversation with the plaintiff’s wife, and tried at the Steuben circuit in October, 1860, when a verdict was rendered in favor of the defendant.
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This action was brought to^recover damages of defendant for criminal conversation with the plaintiff’s wife, and tried at the Steuben circuit in October, 1860, when a verdict was rendered in favor of the defendant. Exceptions were taken upon the trial to the rulings of the judge admitting evidence-objected to, and judgment having been entered upon the verdict, the plaintiff appealed to the general term of the supreme court; a new trial was ordered and the defendant appealed to the court of appeals.
1Opinion of the CourtMiller, J.
It is evident that the judge erred upon the trial in allowing the wife of the plaintiff to. be sworn as a witness and to testify against her husband. At common law the husband and wife could not be witnesses for or against each other,, and this-rule of the common law is not changed by the provisions of the Code which abrogate the disqualification of witnesses by reason of their being parties. These provisions, as they existed when this action was tried, have no application to a ease like the one at bar, as has been held in numerous adjudications of the court. (Hasbrouck agt. Vandervoort, 5…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Marsh v. PotterNew York Supreme Court · 1860
- Macondray v. WardleNew York Supreme Court · 1858
- White v. StaffordNew York Supreme Court · 1862
- Carpenter v. WhiteNew York Supreme Court · 1866