Brown v. State

Decided March 15, 1910

Mississippi Supreme Court · decided 1910-03-15

Íbom the circuit court of Pike county. Hon. Moyse H. Wilkinson, Judge. Lady Brown, appellant, was indicted and tried for and convicted of the unlawful sale of intoxicating liquors and appealed to the supreme court. The facts upon which the decision turned are stated in the opinion of the court. In Code 1906, § 1923, it is provided that a witness may.be examined touching his interest in the cause or his conviction of any crime. Of any crime, means what it says.

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently October 1993

4 state decisions

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1910-03-15

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Mates, J.,

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2Section 1923 of the Code of 1906 provides that any witness may be examined touching his conviction of any crime; yet when counsel undertook to cross-examine as to this, and asked the witness if he had been convicted of more than one crime, the trial court refused to allow the question to be asked. The statute says that the witness may be examined touching his conviction of any crime; that is to say, not whether he has been convicted one time only, but of all convictions. The whole purpose of this testimony is addressed to the credibility of the *536witness, and, this being the case, all that would operate to discredit, by showing numerous convictions, ought under this statute to be allowed to go to the jury.

¶3We do not think- the other exceptions of counsel are .well taken.

¶4Reversed and remanded.