Maryland Criminal Defense: Is Spousal Privilege Still Available in Maryland?

Defending against criminal charges in Maryland can involve many complex legal challenges and issues. Many legal issues focus on whether certain types of evidence can be admitted and used at trial. Generally, what an alleged perpetrator says to other people is evidence that is admissible if the testimony is coming from the person to whom the words were spoken.

But there are some exceptions where the words spoken will be barred from use at trial. Two famous examples are the attorney-client privilege and the doctor-patient privilege. A “privilege” means that what an accused says cannot be used at trial. Thus, what an accused says to his or her attorney is privileged and cannot be used at trial. The same is generally true for what a person says to his or her doctor. Challenging evidence and seeking to bar the use of evidence at trial is one of the strongest weapons that can be used by experienced Maryland criminal defense attorneys. Any evidence that can be excluded makes it more difficult for the prosecuting attorneys to obtain a conviction. If you have been charged with a crime in Maryland, you will need to hire trusted Maryland criminal defense attorneys like those here at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Contact us using our number (301) 870-1200 or use our contact page. We are Maryland criminal defense attorneys with offices in Waldorf, MD.

There is another privilege that relates to what married couples say to each other. This is called the spousal privilege (or the Maryland marital privilege). The spousal privilege used to mean that one spouse could not be forced to testify against the other in a civil or criminal case. It applied to any spouse, current or former. The spousal privilege used to be very strong, but has been significantly eroded over the years by judicial decisions and statutes. Now, for example, in Maryland, the spousal privilege only applies to the marriage relationship at the time of the alleged crime.

So, the question is whether the spousal privilege is still available in Maryland and in what circumstances?

The answer is “yes.” However, the spousal privilege is weak in Maryland and, thus, it may not be of much use in defending against criminal charges.

In criminal law, the first reason the spousal privilege in Maryland is weak is that the privilege is held by the spouse, not by the criminal defendant. In contrast, the attorney-client privilege is held by the criminal defendant. This means that, if a defendant’s attorney wanted to testify, the defendant could ask the judge to bar the attorney’s testimony from being used at trial. The opposite is true for the spousal privilege. The spousal privilege prevents a spouse from being forced to testify, but does not prevent the spouse’s testimony if the spouse wants to testify.

The second reason the spousal privilege in Maryland is weak is that there are major exceptions. One exception involves circumstances where both spouses are engaged in criminal activity. Because of the concerted and joint efforts, Maryland considers the spousal privilege to be void. Another exception involves charges of child abuse. In those cases, there is no spousal privilege. Another exception involves domestic violence criminal cases. If the spouse has testified in earlier cases of domestic violence, that spouse cannot claim the privilege in later cases.

So, as can be seen, the spousal privilege is “still a thing” in Maryland, but has become severely limited. That is not to say that, in some Maryland criminal cases, the spousal privilege should be ignored. It is just that a few defenses will hinge on the spousal privilege.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Criminal Defense lawyers. Our address is 11701 Central Ave, Waldorf, MD 20601.