Herndon v. State

Citations

• 72 Fla. 108
• 72 So. 833

Syllabus

<p>1. Under the provisions of Section 3979 of the General Statutes of 1906, the defendant in a criminal prosecution may at his option be sworn as a witness in his own behalf, “and shall in such case be subject to examination as other witnesses.”</p> <p>2. Where an accused on trial voluntarily offers himself as a witness on his own behalf, he thereby voluntarily subjects himself to any legitimate cross-examination, whether such cross-examination tends to criminate him or not.</p> <p>3. Where a defendant in a criminal prosecution testifies as a witness in his own behalf, the State has the right on cross-examination to interrogate him as to whether he has previously been convicted of a criminal offense.</p> <p>4. Where a defendant in a criminal prosecution offers himself as a witness in his own behalf he may be contradicted and impeached as any other witness and may be cross-examined as to his former conviction on a similar charge even in another State.</p> <p>5. To constitute perjury for false swearing in the trial of a cause the fact sworn to need not be material to the main issue; but if.it be conducive to the point in issue or a guide to the court or jury, even though circumstantial, it is perjury.</p> <p>6. If the defendant in a criminal prosecution offers himself as a witness in his own behalf, he may be asked on cross-examination if he has been convicted of another offense, especially of a similar character to the offense for which he is being tried, and if he answers such question falsely, he may be convicted of perjury.</p>