General

Bennett v. Adams

2 D.C. 5512 Cranch 551·United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia·1825

(Thruston, J., absent,)

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Opinion

Bennett v. Adams. When evidence is offered of what a deceased witness testified at a former trial of the - same cause, that evidence must be of the very words of the deceased witness. A power to release a debt cannot be proved by general reputation. [MAJORITY — The Court] The Court (Thruston, J., absent,) decided, that when evidence is offered of what a deceased witness testified, at a former trial of the same cause, that evidence must be of the very words of the deceased witness. It is not sufficient for the witness to state what he understood to be the substance or effect of the language of the deceased witness. Phillip’s Ev. 199, Ed. N. York, 1820. The Couet also decided that a power to release a debt could not be proved by general reputation. Verdict for the plaintiff, $63.68.