Edwards v. State
Edwards v. State
Opinion of the Court
The appellant and one Mary Ann Griffin, alias Mary Ann Shepperd, were indicted, tried and convicted on an indictment which charges, with proper averments as to time and venue, as follows: “did then and there unlawfully cohabit together and carnally know each other, the said Dick Edwards then and there not being the husband of said Mary Ann Shepperd, and the said Mary Ann Shepperd not being then and there the wife of the said Dick Edwards, being then and there a married man and having a living wife, from whom he had not been divorced, and who he well knew was then and there living.” The sufficiency of the indictment is called in question by motion in arrest of judgment.
The offense with which these parties appear to be charged is that of adultery, which is thus defined by law: “Adultery is the living together and carnal intercourse with each other, or habitual carnal intercourse with each other without living together, of a man and woman, when either is lawfully married to another person. ” Penal Code, art. 333. The other essentials being present, the crime may consist of either one of two circumstances: 1st,
Inasmuch as the prosecution will be dismissed because of a defective indictment, it is not necessary to revise other rulings of the court below, notwithstanding we are of opinion the court erred to the prejudice of the defendants in admitting evidence over objections set out in the defendants’ bill of exceptions.
Reversed and dismissed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.