State v. K.
Superior Court of New Hampshire
K. was indicted for unlawfully breaking and entering a public burying place, and digging up and carrying away the body of a person, who had been there interred.
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K. was indicted for unlawfully breaking and entering a public burying place, and digging up and carrying away the body of a person, who had been there interred. Upon the trial of the indictment here at May term, 1829, the respondent called a witness, who stated that he knew the respondent to be innocent, butthatbe could not state bow he knew that without implicating himself, and he enquired of the court whether he was bound to testify, at all, and if bound to testify, how far he was compellable to go ? contended, that they were entitled to the testimony of the witness so far as he could…
1Opinion of the Court
By the court.
The witness is not to be compelled to answer any question, if the answer will tend to expose him to a criminal charge. But if he state a particular fact in favor of the respondent, he will be bound, on his cross examination, to state all the circumstances relating to that fact, although in so doing he may expose himself to a criminal charge. We shall not compel the witness *564to state that he knows the respondent to be innocent, if a full account of his knowledge on that subject will tend to furnish evidence against himself. But if he chooses to testify that fact, we shall permit…
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