State v. . Williams

Decided June 5, 1871

Supreme Court of North Carolina · decided 1871-06-05

This was an indictment for assault and battery tried before Clarice, J., at Spring Term, 1871, of Northampton Superior Court. The defendant offered as a witness one Eorrest, who having conscientious scruples as to swearing upon the Bible, was permitted to affirm as prescribed by law. There was no evidence as to the place of nativity of the witness, or the occupation in which he was engaged.

Relies on Devries Co. v. . Phillips Haywood

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1871-06-05

How this case has been cited

Cited by 7 later decisions (1 by the Supreme Court) — most recently November 1967

5 state decisions

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Read®; J.

¶1 The question is, whether his Honor had the power to stop the Solicitor for the State, when he was, in the opinion of his Honor, abusing his privilege in his comments on a witness and his testimony.

¶2 It is a power which is usually exercised sparingly, but nevertheless, it is a power which the Court possesses; and which ought to be promptly and firmly exercised, where the abuse is gross, as was the Case here. It is especially proper to exercise the power in a criminal case, when the State is prosecuting one of its citizens, and should not allow the jury to be improperly prejudiced against him.

¶3 The question has been before this Court in the case of Devries v. Haywood, 63 N. C. 53, and in Jenkins v. N. C. Ore Company, at this Term.

¶4 There is error.

¶5 Pee Curiam. Venire de novo.