Viewing "A Lawyer's Story" (1869).

"A Lawyer's Story" (1869).

In March 1868, Minnesota became the ninth state to enact legislation permitting a defendant in a criminal case to testify under oath at his own trial. This law abolished an old common law rule of evidence that barred a criminal defendant from testifying under oath because he had an "interest" in the outcome. That self-interest, it was thought, would encourage him to commit perjury and hoodwink the jury into returning a verdict of "not guilty."

On October 7, 1869, the "Blue Earth City Post" republished an article headlined "A Lawyer's Story" that appeared first in the "Philadelphia Times." It recounted a dramatic criminal case in Pennsylvania, which still followed the common law exclusionary rule, where a defendant was acquitted after his co-defendant testified about the events of the night of the crime. It is posted here.

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