Seitz v. Seitz

Citations

• 170 Pa. 71
• 32 A. 578
• 1895 Pa. LEXIS 1363

Syllabus

<p>Divorce — Adultery—Evidence—Wife as witness — Act of May 23, 1887.</p> <p>Under the act of May 23, 1887, clause C, sec. 5, P. L. 158, which makes either party in a proceeding for divorce competent to testify against the other when personal service of the subpoena or rule to take depositions has been made, or the opposite party appears and defends, a wife is competent to testify as to adulterous acts of her husband which she has witnessed, and as to statements and admissions by him that he had committed adultery with other women.</p> <p>Husband and wife — Confidential communication.</p> <p>In such a case, where the statements made by the husband were not the confessions of a penitent husband, but boastful and defiant declarations of his misconduct and of his intention to openly persist in his course, accompanied by insolent and brutal taunts, they do not arise from the confidence existing between the parties, but from the want of it, and no considerations of public policy should protect them as confidential communications.</p>