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4 Va. 541

Dean v. Commonwealth

General Court of Virginia

Decided June 15, 1847

General Court of Virginia · decided 1847-06-15

<p>1. Persons having less than one fourth of negro blood in their veins, are competent witnesses, on the trial of a white man.</p> <p>2. The fact that a witness is of negro descent, though not so near as to render him incompetent as a witness, is not competent evidence to impeach his credibility.</p> <p>3. The offer of the prisoner to bribe the person who has him in custody, to permit him to escape, and his attempts to escape, may be given in evidence against him; though the offer and the attempts wrere made when the prisoner had been committed for a different offence from that for which he was tried; both offences being founded on the same fact.</p>

Decided 1847-06-15

Thompson, J.

¶1delivered the judgment of the Court.

¶2On the first question presented by the first bill of exceptions, the Court are unanimously of opinion there is no error.

¶3On the second question in the same bill of exceptions, a large majority of the Court are of the same opinion: dissentiente Robertson, Scarburgh and Thompson.

¶4On the second bill of exceptions, the Court are unanimously of opinion there is no error.

¶5On the third, which presents the question of the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict, the Court were divided ; but a majority of the Court are for awarding a new trial; a part, because of the insufficiency of the evidence; and Judges Robertson, Scarburgh and Thompson, because of the error committed by the Court in excluding the evidence of negro blood, to impeach the credit of John and William Ross, mentioned in the second bill of exceptions.

¶6From this judgment, Judges Smith, Brown, Fry and Gholson dissent, they being of opinion there is no error in the judgment of the Court below.

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