Huot v. Wise’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The question is simple. Is this a case in which the husband or wife may, without consent, be a witness against the other? Upon this the statute seems conclusive. Gen. St. 18Y8, c. 73, § 10. ‘ * * * A husband cannot be examined for or against his wife without her consent, nor a wife for or against her husband without his consent; nor can either, during the marriage or afterwards, be, without the consent of the other, examined as to any communication made by one to the other during the marriage; but this exception does not apply to a civil action or proceeding by one against the other, nor to a criminal action or proceeding for a crime committed by one against the other.’ If this statute merely laid down the rule disabling the husband and wife from testifying for or against each other, it might be urged that it was only a statutory adoption of the common-law rule, and that it adopted also the common-law application of the rule, including the exceptions. But it also prescribes the application of, and defines and limits the exceptions to, the rule of disability. This excludes resort to the common law to determine how far the rule shall prevail, and what cases shall he excepted from it. So it is immaterial that the common law did or did not — though we know of no well-considered case, holding that it did — admit the evidence of a wife against her husband, in a case like this. The statute does not.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Smith v. Sheffield