| Summary: | The defendant Lalande obtained a judgment against the succession of Minvielle, deceased, for a sum of money. The plaintiff, Domec, then took a rule on the executor, Barjac, to show why the money should not go to him as Lalande's husband. Lalande denied that she was married to Domec on the grounds that he was white and she was a free woman of colour, such marriages being prohibited. She also deposed that Domec had publicly denied that she was his wife. Domec produced documentary evidence of the marriage; Lalande offered to prove that she and Domec were of different races. The lower court accepted this offer, and Domec appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed that the law prohibited interracial marriage, and ruled that there was proof enough that Lalande was not white: namely, a statement by Domec, published in a newspaper, that he had discovered his wife was a woman of colour and declaring his marriage to be therefore void. Judgment upheld.
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