This case is about slaves or slavery.
| Year: | 1854 |
| Citation: | 6 Md. 541 |
| Jurisdiction: | Maryland |
| People: | |
| Short Summary: | In a matter of the right of ownership of a slave, a witness who is a child of one of the parties and does not have any interest in the slaves is a competent witness. Holding that to disqualify a witness for competency, the interest of the witness must be real as opposed to conjecture and should be present as opposed to contingent. A witness who may have interest in the property rights of the slave in the future does not amount to incompetency. |
| Law type: | |
| Full name: | John B. Melvin vs. James A. Melvin, Adm'r c. t. a. of Avra Melvin |
| Court: | Court of Appeals of Maryland |