State v. Washington
State v. Washington
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
The appellant was found guilty and sentenced by a magistrate for the county of Charleston under a warrant charging buying seed cotton without a license in said county. He appealed to the Court of General Sessions on the following grounds: “(1) Because the act under which this case was brought is unconstitutional, null and void. (2) Because the magistrate erred in not requiring Robert Heyward, a witness for the State, to answer a question put to said witness by defendant’s counsel for the purpose of laying the foundation to contradict said witness upon a very material point in the testimony.” The Court of General Sessions affirmed the judgment of the magistrate, and now the appellant presents the following grounds of appeal to this Court: “1. Because the act under which this case was prosecuted is unconstitutional, null and void, and his Honor erred in not so holding. 2. Because it was error on the part of the magistrate in not requiring a witness for the State to answer a question put to said witness for the purpose of contradicting him, and his Honor erred in not so holding. 3. Because the magistrate erred in excluding competent testimony at the trial, and his Honor erred in not reversing the ruling and judgment of said magistrate, and ordering a new trial.”
The judgment of the Circuit Court and of the magistrate is reversed, and the case is remanded to the magistrate for a new trial.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.