Welker v. New York Central Railroad

Citations

• 275 Pa. 82
• 118 A. 615
• 1922 Pa. LEXIS 456

Syllabus

<p>Malicious prosecution — Probable cause — Evidence — Husband and wife — Competency of witness.</p> <p>1. In cases of malicious prosecution, the question is not whether the person charged with crime is guilty of the offense, but what were the indications of his guilt at the time the arrest and prosecution took place.</p> <p>2. The test is the prosecutor’s belief in the evidence of probable cause and based on reasonable grounds existing at that time.</p> <p>3. In such case, it is proper to refuse to permit a witness for plaintiff to testify that in his opinion there was no evidence produced at the hearing before a justice of the peace that the goods alleged to have been stolen by plaintiff, were in fact stolen.</p> <p>4. While a wife is not a competent witness against her husband in a criminal proceeding, there is no rule of law which prevents a third person from instituting criminal proceedings based on facts learned through information given by the wife.</p> <p>5. The admission of such facts in evidence is not permitting the wife to testify against her husband.</p>