Question

During the course of their marriage, a husband told his wife that he stole a famous painting from a federal museum. Six months after the admission, the couple divorced. Shortly after the divorce, the husband was killed in an automobile accident. Later, the wife read in the paper that a man had been charged with the theft of the painting her husband admitted to stealing and was about to be tried in federal district court. She told her friend that the man was probably innocent because the husband told her that he had stolen the painting himself. The friend told several other people what the wife had told her, and eventually the story got back to the defense attorney. The attorney now wants the wife to testify in court to the husband's statement. Can the wife be compelled to testify?
A. Yes, but only because the husband is dead and cannot invoke his privilege.
B. Yes, because there is no privilege when the defendant is not a spouse.
C. No, because the couple was still married at the time of the disclosure.
D. No, because her testimony is not essential to prevent a fraud on the court.

Answer 1

Answer:

A. Yes, but only because the husband is dead and cannot invoke his privilege.

Explanation:

Since the husband is dead, spousal privilege between them is broken and thus the woman can be compelled to testify. There are to privileges related to marriage; privilege for confidential marital communication, under this privilege, a spouse is not permitted to disclose confidential communications made between the couple and this privileges stands even after divorce and Spousal immunity which prevents a married person from testifying or witnessing against a spouse in a trial.