State v. Miller

Citations

• 105 Wash. 475
• 178 P. 459
• 1919 Wash. LEXIS 597

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law (250)—Credibility of Witness—Question for Jury. The credibility of the witnesses is for the jury.</p> <p>Witnesses (55)—Competency—-Information Acquired by Physician—Criminal Actions. A physician cannot testify in a criminal case as to information acquired in treating the accused, without his consent, under Rem. Code, § 1214, so providing as to civil, actions, and Id., § 2152, providing that the rules of evidence in civil actions shall be, so far as practicable, applied in criminal prosecutions; notwithstanding Id., § 2147, providing that physicians shall be protected from testifying in criminal prosecutions, which merely protects the rights of the physician.</p> <p>Same (56)—Waiver of Privilege. The consent of the accused to testimony by a physician as to the nature of a disease for which he was treated is not shown by the testimony of other witnesses that accused had admitted having been afflicted with such disease; but the waiver must be made by the accused at the trial.</p> <p>Same (55)—Competency—Information Acquired by Physician. Where a physician treated accused for a certain disease, it must be assumed that he acquired information of the disease at that time, and that it was necessary to enable him to give treatment, within Rem. Code, § 1214, disqualifying the physician from testifying as to information acquired in attending his patient.</p> <p>Holcomb, J., dissents.</p>