Case ID: ohio-st_20/html/0333-01.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "By the Court\n    ", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

William Steen v. The State of Ohio.
    Husband and wife are not competent witnesses for or against eaeb other in criminal prosecutions. Neither the 139th section of the code of criminal procedure nor the 310th and following sections of the code of civil procedure render them competent in criminal cases.
    Motion for the allowance of a writ of error to the court of common pleas of Morrow county.
    
      Andrews dé Sogers for the motion.
    
      F. B. Pond, attorney-general, contra.
   By the Court

Held :

1. On the trial of a criminal prosecution the wife of the accused is not a competent witness for or against her husband.

2. In criminal prosecutions the incompetency of a witness “by reason of his interestin the event of the same, as a party or otherwise,” is removed by section 139 of the code of crimi.nal procedure. But the incompetency of husband and wife as witnesses for or against each other is founded upon consid erations oí public policy.

3. The rules of evidence contained in sections 310 et seq. of the code civil procedure apply only in civil actions and proceedings.

Motion overruled.