Difference between revisions of "Marital privilege"
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'''Marital privilege''', or spousal privilege, is a law of evidence that protects one spouse from being compelled to testify against the other. | '''Marital privilege''', or spousal privilege, is a law of evidence that protects one spouse from being compelled to testify against the other. | ||
| − | Courts, in disregard of marital unity, have weakened this privilege in the past hundred years. | + | Courts, in disregard of marital unity, have weakened this privilege in the past hundred years. Most notably, the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in 1980 abrogated the centuries-old right of someone to prevent his spouse from testifying against him. ''See Trammel v. United States'', 445 U.S. 40 (1980). As a result, in federal court today someone is allowed to testify against a spouse if the witness wants to (or is compelled to by a grant of immunity). |
[[Category:evidence]] | [[Category:evidence]] | ||
[[category:privileges]] | [[category:privileges]] | ||
Revision as of 01:12, September 1, 2015
Marital privilege, or spousal privilege, is a law of evidence that protects one spouse from being compelled to testify against the other.
Courts, in disregard of marital unity, have weakened this privilege in the past hundred years. Most notably, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1980 abrogated the centuries-old right of someone to prevent his spouse from testifying against him. See Trammel v. United States, 445 U.S. 40 (1980). As a result, in federal court today someone is allowed to testify against a spouse if the witness wants to (or is compelled to by a grant of immunity).