Powell v. The State

Powell v. The State. Indictment fon Grand Larceny. 1. Disqualification of infamous person as witness■■ — A conviction of an •infamous offense disqualifies a person as a witness, but the mere finding of a true bill against him does not have that effect. Fboh the Circuit Court of Dallas. Tried before the Hon. JohN Moore. The defendant in this case was indicted for the larceny of an ox, the personal property of Peter Monk; pleaded not guilty, .and was tried on issue joined on that plea. On the trial, as appears from the bill of exceptions, one G-eorge Strawbridge being introduced as a witness for the prosecution, “ the defendant Objected to his examination as a witness, on the ground that he had been indicted for grand larceny, and read to the court the indictment therefor, then pending in said court and undetermined, against said witness.” The court overruled the objection, and permitted the witness to be examined; and this ruling is the only matter presented by the bill of exceptions. No counsel appeared in this court for the defendant, so far •as the record and dockets show. TI. C. ToMPKiNS, Attorney-General, for the State. [MAJORITY — STONE, L] STONE, L It requires conviction of an infamous crime to disqualify a witness. The finding of a true bill against him is not enough. — 1 Greenl.Ev. § 375; Clark’s Or.Manual, § 2437. The judgment is affirmed.