What is clergy privilege

The person who was the clergyman at the time of the communication is presumed to have authority to claim the privilege but only on behalf of the communicant. This means that the moment a confidential communication is made to a recognized clergyman the privilege of confidentiality attaches. That case was a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the wife and son of a deceased who died from complications of an aneurysm surgery at Memorial Northwest Hospital.

While her husband was undergoing surgery, the wife spoke to a hospital chaplain. When the chaplain arrived, he introduced himself and gave the wife a card identifying him as the hospital chaplain. He thereafter spoke to the wife alone and at other times in the presence of the nurse and a doctor. The trial court was not impressed. Second, such a conclusion would be tantamount to allowing all conversations that individuals have [made during] clergy-communicant counseling sessions to be discussed and partitioned into categories.

Rule would be eviscerated by such a result. Texas courts of appeals in criminal cases have carved out several significant distinctions to the clergy privilege, primarily: self-incriminating statement made during clergy-initiated meetings with defendant; and self-incriminating statements made to the clergy with no expectation of privacy.

State in yet another clergy-initiated meeting about sexual abuse allegations by a father against his daughter. State [ Tex. Phillips N. Since that case, there has been continuing controversy over whether the privilege, not recognized in English common law, is justified on chiefly constitutional or prudential grounds. The scope of the privilege also remains controversial. Several antebellum cases addressed similar issues. Smith N. Similarly, in Commonwealth v. Drake Mass. Similar legislation was later adopted in Missouri , Michigan , Wisconsin , California , and Iowa By , 17 states and four American territories had similar legislation, and this number continued to grow.

By , 44 states had adopted such legislation, and all have it today. Several lower courts have affirmed this privilege in recent years. In Mockaitis v. Business and Commercial Law. Please provide a valid Zip Code or City and choose a category.

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Connecting …. Are You a Lawyer? Grow Your Practice. Contents Who is Considered to be a Member of the Clergy? Are there Exceptions to the Privilege? Can an Attorney Help? Jose Rivera Managing Editor Editor.

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