The King v Brasier

JurisdictionEngland & Wales
Judgment Date01 January 1815
Date01 January 1815
CourtCourt of the King's Bench

English Reports Citation: 168 E.R. 202

THE COURT OF KING'S BENCH

The King
and
Brasier

S. C. 1 East, P. C. 443, Bull. N. P. 293, Edit 1790. Referred to, R v Guttridge, 1840, 9 C. & P. 471; R v Paul, 1890, 25 Q B. D 202; R v. Lillyman, [1896] 2 Q. B. 167.

case XCVIII the Kmo v brasier (An infant witness under seven years of age, if apprized of the nature of an oath, must be sworn_, for no testimony is legal except it be given upon oath ) [S. C. 1 East, P. C. 443, Bull. N. P 293, Edit 1790. Referred to, R v GnUndge, 1840, 9 C. & P 471 ; R v Paul, 1890, 25 Q B. D 202 ; R v. Ltllyman, [1896] 2 Q. B. 167.] This was a case reserved for the opinion of the Twelve Judges, by Mr Justice Buller, at the Spring Assizes for Reading, in the year 1779, on the trial of an indictment [200] for an assault with intent to commit a rape on the...

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23 cases
  • Dick et Al v R
    • Guyana
    • Court of Appeal (Guyana)
    • 8 May 1985
    ...dealing with the point raised, here, by the appellants. 24 First, the position in England, where as long ago as 1779, in R. v. Brasier, 168 E.R. 202, it was held that competence to give evidence depends not on age but upon understanding of an oath; that there is no fixed limit of age under ......
  • Southern Health Board v CH
    • Ireland
    • Supreme Court
    • 11 March 1996
    ...High Court, Costello P., 18th January, 1996). Mapp (a minor) v. Gilhooley [1991] 2 I.R. 253; [1991] I.L.R.M. 695. R. v. Brasier (1779) 1 Leach 199. R. v. Burke (1912) 47 I.L.T.R. 111. R. v. Khan [1990] 2 S.C.R. 531. State (D. and D.) v. Groarke [1990] 1 I.R. 305; [1990] I.L.R.M. 130. Case S......
  • R v Hester ; DPP v Hester
    • United Kingdom
    • House of Lords
    • 22 November 1972
    ...of an oath, whether through infancy or defect of intellect, was incompetent to testify in either civil or criminal proceedings. ( R. v. Brasier 1779 1 Leach 199). If the incompetence of a witness for this or any other reason did not appear until after his evidence had been given, it was the......
  • Re H (A Minor); Re K (Minors) (Child Abuse: Evidence)
    • United Kingdom
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 25 May 1989
    ...was four. The competency of a child to give evidence in civil proceedings is governed by the common law. Since the decision in R. v. Brasier (1779) 1 Leach 199, the unsworn evidence of a child is not admissible. A child under seven is unlikely to be sworn even if the parent or, in this inst......
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4 books & journal articles
  • Evidence
    • Canada
    • Irwin Books Religious Institutions and The Law in Canada. Fourth Edition
    • 20 June 2017
    ...aff‌irmation. 9 2 See chapter 9, section F. 3 Maden v. Catanach (1861), 7 H. & N. 360, 158 E.R. 512. 4 R . v. Brasier (1779), 1 Leach 199, 168 E.R. 202. 5 R.S.C. 1985, c. C-5; R . v. Krafchenko (1914), 6 W.W.R. 836 (Man. K.B.). 6 R . v. Kelly (1917), 54 S.C.R. 220. 7 R . v. Bluske , [1948] ......
  • Evidence
    • Canada
    • Irwin Books Archive Religious Institutions and the Law in Canada. Third Edition
    • 7 September 2010
    ...9 2 Below chapter 9, section F. 3 Maden v. Catanach (1861), 7 H. & N. 360, 158 E.R. 512. 4 R . v. Brasier (1779), 1 Leach 199, 168 E.R. 202. 5 R.S.C. 1985, c. C-5; R . v. Krafchenko , [1914] 6 W.W.R. 836 (Man. K.B.). 6 R . v. Kelly (1917), 54 S.C.R. 220. 7 R . v. Bluske , [1948] 1 D.L.R. 84......
  • Children's evidence - making a case for the adoption of the english criminal justice acts in Caribbean Jurisdictions
    • Barbados
    • Caribbean Law Review No. 4-2, December 1994
    • 1 December 1994
    ...of competency and that above which he was regarded competent to testify on oath was put by some judges at 14. 6 If a child of tender 1 (1779) 1 Leach 199. 2 R. v. Dunne (1929) 99 L.J. K.B. 117. 3 R. v. Reynolds [1950J 1 K.B. 606. 4 [1977] 1 W.L.R. 234. 5 See: The Evidence of Children: The L......
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