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Hawkins v. United States, 358 U.S. 74 (1958)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Hawkins v. United States, 358 U.S. 74 (1958)
Hawkins v. United States No. 20 Argued October 14, 1958 Decided November 24, 1958 358 U.S. 74
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
At petitioner’s trial in a Federal District Court in which he was convicted of violating the Mann Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2421, by transporting a girl from Arkansas to Oklahoma for immoral purposes, his wife was permitted to testify against him over his objection.
Held: though the wife did not object to testifying, admission of her testimony over his objection was error. Pp. 74-81.
(a) Though Congress or this Court, by decision or under its rulemaking power, can change or modify the rule where reason or experience dictates, and some specific exceptions have been made, this Court is not now prepared to abandon so much of the old common law rule as forbade one spouse to testify against the other over the latter’s objection. Pp. 75-79.
(b) On the record in this case, it cannot be said that the wife’s testimony did not have substantial influence on the jury, and its admission was not harmless error. Pp. 79-81.
249 F.2d 735, reversed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Hawkins v. United States, 358 U.S. 74 (1958) in 358 U.S. 74 Original Sources, accessed November 25, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=UNC5ZANH5DLYH7V.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Hawkins v. United States, 358 U.S. 74 (1958), in 358 U.S. 74, Original Sources. 25 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=UNC5ZANH5DLYH7V.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Hawkins v. United States, 358 U.S. 74 (1958). cited in 1958, 358 U.S. 74. Original Sources, retrieved 25 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=UNC5ZANH5DLYH7V.
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