1. Every court shall be its own judge as to who shall be admitted as witnesses in a case. Either party has the right to challenge any witness that may be called to the stand, giving his reasons for the challenge, and the court shall decide whether the witness shall be allowed to testify.
2. The accused party may be allowed, but shall not be compelled, to testify and no inference of guilt may be drawn from his failure to testify, on the demand of the accused.
3. The credibility of witnesses, or the degree of credit to be given to their testimony, may be affected by relationship to either of the parties, by interest in the result, by want of proper age, by weakness of understanding, by defect in any of the senses, by enmity to the accused, by personal character, and by various other circumstances to which the court should carefully attend and for which it should make due allowance in its decision.
4. Private writings and printed publications, the genuineness and authorship of which are clearly established, shall be received as evidence of the author's opinion.
5. Husbands and wives, parents and children, shall not be required to testify against each other.
6. The records of a church court, or any part of them, whether original or transcribed, attested by the moderator and the clerk, or by either of them, shall be received as legal evidence in any other court.
7. Where it may not be practicable for witnesses to appear at the trial, the court may request another court to take their evidence or it may appoint a commission for this purpose, due notice in either case being given to the opposite party. Evidence thus taken shall be received as if taken in the presence of the court.
8. The testimony of a witness in a different case in which the accused was not a party and had no opportunity to cross-examine shall not be admitted as evidence of the truth of the matters to which the witness testified.
9. Hearsay evidence is not to be received except when it would be admitted in courts of law.
10. No private knowledge possessed by members of the court shall be allowed to influence their decision. A member of the court who is called on to testify in the case may not vote on any matter in the trial except with the approval of both parties.
11. Circumstantial evidence may be received either to corroborate positive testimony or as conclusive when it is of such character as to produce full conviction on the mind of the court.
12. When a charge depends entirely upon the testimony of witnesses, at least two credible witnesses shall be necessary to establish the charge. But the testimony of one witness corroborated by good circumstantial evidence, may be considered sufficient to establish the charge when there is no conflicting evidence.
13. In cases of common report, the testimony of several different witnesses to different acts of the same kind may be considered sufficient to establish the charge.
14. If after trial before any court new testimony is discovered which the accused believes important, it is his right to ask a new trial and it is within the power of the court to grant his request. No person who has been found innocent, however, shall be re-tried for that same offense.
15. If in the prosecution of an appeal, new testimony is offered, which, in the judgment of the appellate court, has an important bearing on the case, it is proper for the court to refer the case to the lower court for a new trial, or, with the consent of parties, to take testimony and proceed with the case.
16. Before giving his testimony, every witness is to be solemnly admonished by the moderator or chairman, that his testimony is given as before the Lord and that he is to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
17. Witnesses who have not yet been examined shall not be present during the examination of another witness if either party demands their exclusion.
18. Witnesses are to be examined in the presence of the accused or his counselor, who are at liberty to cross-examine them. The same privilege belongs to the prosecutor and to every member of the court. All questions are to be asked with the permission of the moderator or chairman, and no frivolous or non-pertinent questions are to be allowed.
19. The testimony of each witness is to be taken down in writing, mechanically reproduced and read to him for his approval and signature, and then filed among the permanent records of the court.
20. If the testimony taken during the trial proves an offense properly denominated by another name than that charged in the accusation, the accused, while he is to be acquitted of the specific charge of the accusation, may be found guilty of that which appears in the proof.