104 Minn. 303 | Minn. | 1908
The appellant, Anna Harms, was a widow residing upon a farm. In the same neighborhood there resided a man named Otto Mesenbring. The complaint alleged that the defendant, Proehl, had used language in a public place in the presence of other parties which charged that Mrs. Flarms had committed fornication with Mesenbring. In an action to recover damages for the slander, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant, and the plaintiff appealed from an order denying her motion for a new trial. The only questions which require consideration relate to the alleged errors of the trial court in receiving evidence.
I. Mrs. Harms and Mesenbring were members of the same church, and it appeared that the charges against them had been made the subject of a church trial of Mesenbring, with the result that he had been practically found guilty and subjected to discipline. On the trial of the present case the defendant offered in evidence certain papers, which were said to constitute the record of the church trial. These papers were produced by the clerk of the congregation, who stated that they correctly represented what occurred at the church meeting. Proehl testified that he was present at the church trial and heard what was there said.
2. An impeaching witness having testified to the bad reputation of the plaintiff for chastity, the court permitted the plaintiff’s counsel on cross-examination to ask the witness to name the persons whom he had heard make statements derogatory to her character, but refused to permit the witness to answer questions which called for the statements which such parties had made. There has been some discus
It has been held that the cross-examination should not be permitted to extend further than to require the witness to give the names of the persons who have made derogatory statements (People v. Mather, 4 Wend. [N. Y.] 239, 21 Am. Dec. 122; Bates v. Barber, 4 Cush. [Mass.] 107; Inhabitants of Phillips v. Inhabitants of Kingfield, 19 Me. 375, 36 Am. Dec. 760), although the reasons stated as justifying this rule seem to justify an even wider range of cross-examination. An examination of the following cases will show that the rule which requires the impeaching witness on cross-examination to give not only the names of parties but also their statements is very generally accepted : State v. Perkins, 66 N. C. 126; People v. Annis, 13 Mich. 511; Sonneborn v. Bernstein, 49 Ala. 168; Jackson v. State, 77 Ala. 18; Weeks v. Hull, 19 Conn. 377, 50 Am. Dec. 249; State v. Woodworth, 65 Iowa, 141, 21 N. W. 490; State v. Allen, 100 Iowa, 7, 69 N. W. 274; Hofacre v. City of Monticello, 128 Iowa, 239, 103 N. W. 488; Pickens v. State, 61 Miss. 563; State v. Howard, 9 N. H. 485; Newton v. Com., 102 S. W. 264, 31 Ky. L. 327. But, on the
3. The respondent was permitted to testify that when he uttered the alleged slanderous language he did not intend to charge Mrs. Harms with the commission of any crime. The language was unambiguous and actionable per se (Reitan v. Goebel, 33 Minn. 151, 22 N. W. 291), and, under the rule announced in Davis v. Hamilton, 88 Minn. 64, 92 N. W. 512, the reception of .the evidence was error.
The order of the trial court is therefore reversed, and a new trial granted.