Rider v. People

Citations

• 110 Ill. 11
• 1884 Ill. LEXIS 1310

Syllabus

<p>1. Witnesses—credibility—the jury to determine. It is the peculiar province of the jury to determine whether any particular witness or witnesses are not worthy of belief, even though they are accomplices; and in passing upon a motion for a new trial, the court will not substitute its own opinion as to the credibility of witnesses for that of the jury.</p> <p>2. Same—how to determine as to the weight or credibility to be given to testimony. In determining the weight or credibility to be given to any statement of fact made by a witness in the course of his testimony, it is the duty of the jury to take into consideration all the evidence, whether circumstantial or otherwise, tending to disprove such statement of fact, and which would also include contradictory statements made by other witnesses.</p> <p>3. Same—as to credibility of a defendant in a criminal prosecution, testifying in his own behalf—how to be determined. On the trial of three defendants for larceny, the court instructed the jury “that in this State the accused is permitted to testify in his own behalf; that when he does so testify he at once becomes the same as any other witness, and his credibility is to be tested by and subjected to the same tests as are legally applied to any other witness; and in determining the degree of credibility that shall be accorded to his testimony, the jury have the right to take into consideration the fact that he is interested in the result of his prosecution, as well as his demeanor and conduct upon the witness stand and during the trial; and the jury are also to take into consideration the fact, if such is the fact, that he has been contradicted by other witnesses. And the court further instructs the jury, that if, after considering all the evidence in this case, they find that the accused has willfully testified falsely to any fact material to the issue in this case, they have the right to entirely disregard his testimony, excepting in so far as his testimony is corr