Crawford v. State
| Decision Date | 22 March 1898 |
| Citation | 98 Wis. 623,74 N.W. 537 |
| Parties | CRAWFORD v. STATE. |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Error to circuit court, Sheboygan county; Gilson, Judge.
George E. Crawford was convicted of adultery, and he brings error. Reversed.D. T. Phalen, for plaintiff in error.
The Attorney General, for the State.
The plaintiff in error was tried and convicted of the crime of adultery, and sentenced to imprisonment in the state's prison for the term of two years, and to reverse that judgment he sues out this writ of error.
Upon the trial his wife was admitted as a witness in behalf of the state, and allowed to testify. This was manifest error. It is well settled that “neither husband nor wife can be a witness at common law for or against the other in prosecutions” for adultery. 2 Whart. Cr. Law (10th Ed.) § 1736; 1 Greenl. Ev. § 334; 3 Jones, Ev. § 751; Mills v. U. S., 1 Pin. 73;Schoeffler v. State, 3 Wis. 823, 844. “With certain exceptions, it was, at common law, against public policy to allow the wife to be a witness for or against her husband in any action, civil or criminal, to which she was not a party.” Smith v. Merrill, 75 Wis. 462, 44 N. W. 759. The case at bar does not come within any exception. Nor is there any statute in this state making the wife a competent witness against the husband in such a case. Certainly section 4072, Rev. St., does not. See Farrell v. Ledwell, 21 Wis. 184;Carney v. Gleissner, 58 Wis. 674, 17 N. W. 398;Selden v. State, 74 Wis. 271, 42 N. W. 218;Smith v. Merrill, 75 Wis. 461, 44 N. W. 759;Horner v. Yance, 93 Wis. 352, 67 N. W. 720;Lanctot v. State (Wis.) 73 N. W. 575. The judgment of the circuit court is reversed, and the cause remanded for a new trial.
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