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    Witness For The Prosecution: On Matters of Confidential Spousal Communication

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    tamakiusui18
    The document discusses the rule of husband-wife privilege which prohibits spousal testimony against their partner in order to uphold family solidarity and marital harmony. It describes a case where a wife, Christine, initially testified against her husband for murder but later recanted after the defense presented letters showing her motive to undermine her husband. This led to his acquittal. It was later revealed they had conspired together. The rule allowed them to escape liability by raising doubts about the wife's testimony. However, strictly applying the presumptions of the rule led to an injustice in this case.

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    Witness For The Prosecution: On Matters of Confidential Spousal Communication

    Uploaded by

    tamakiusui18
    15 views1 page
    The document discusses the rule of husband-wife privilege which prohibits spousal testimony against their partner in order to uphold family solidarity and marital harmony. It describes a case where a wife, Christine, initially testified against her husband for murder but later recanted after the defense presented letters showing her motive to undermine her husband. This led to his acquittal. It was later revealed they had conspired together. The rule allowed them to escape liability by raising doubts about the wife's testimony. However, strictly applying the presumptions of the rule led to an injustice in this case.

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    Shftundse

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    The document discusses the rule of husband-wife privilege which prohibits spousal testimony against their partner in order to uphold family solidarity and marital harmony. It describes a case where a wife, Christine, initially testified against her husband for murder but later recanted after the defense presented letters showing her motive to undermine her husband. This led to his acquittal. It was later revealed they had conspired together. The rule allowed them to escape liability by raising doubts about the wife's testimony. However, strictly applying the presumptions of the rule led to an injustice in this case.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    15 views1 page

    Witness For The Prosecution: On Matters of Confidential Spousal Communication

    Uploaded by

    tamakiusui18
    The document discusses the rule of husband-wife privilege which prohibits spousal testimony against their partner in order to uphold family solidarity and marital harmony. It describes a case where a wife, Christine, initially testified against her husband for murder but later recanted after the defense presented letters showing her motive to undermine her husband. This led to his acquittal. It was later revealed they had conspired together. The rule allowed them to escape liability by raising doubts about the wife's testimony. However, strictly applying the presumptions of the rule led to an injustice in this case.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    Witness for the Prosecution: On Matters of Confidential Spousal Communication

    The rule on husband-wife privilege prohibits the offer of testimony against his or her
    spouse, for they are bound by privilege communication. The disqualification of a spouse is
    founded on upholding the solidarity of the family and of marital harmony.

    The applicability of the rule was immediately prayed for when Christine, who is wife of
    the accused-Mr.Vole, appeared as a witness for the prosecution. However, having established
    that their marriage is void, Christine was not prevented from testifying that Mr.Vole actually
    killed Mrs.French. Her statement carried a probative evidence of conviction as she impressed the
    court of compliance with principles of fairness. However, when the defense had presented the
    letters evidencing her ill motive against Mr.Vole, she repudiated her prior statement, thus,
    resulting in Mr.Vole’s acquittal.

    Suspicious of the symmetrical series of events, the movie later revealed the connivance
    between Mr.Vole and Christine. The husband-wife privilege rule was instrumental for escaping
    from criminal liability, by raising suspicions on the statement of Christine when she was first
    called by the prosecution. The suspicion started when Christine deviated from the presumption
    that one will closely-guard the secrets of his or her spouse for the confidential information
    acquired during the course of marriage. This suspicion was validated when the defense presented
    the conclusive evidence on her alleged plan to get rid of Mr.Vole. However, the presumptions on
    the preservation of marital harmony and the stigma upon a spouse testifying against his or her
    spouse, which were strictly applied has led to injustice.

    On matters of confidential spousal communication, solidarity of the family is preferred


    inorder to avoid filial controversies. This rule reflects the close-tie relationship in our society,
    however, if misused, then such rule can be used to defeat the ends of justice.

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