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From: Barry Gold <barrydgold@ca.rr.com>
Newsgroups: misc.legal.moderated
Subject: Re: Spousal privelege
Date: Fri, 17 May 2024 09:50:30 -0700 (PDT)
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On 5/16/2024 7:09 AM, micky wrote:
> When I gooogle      can testify against spouse
> I get conflicting replies.
> 
> One says that one can if one wants to, and the other that either party
> can object to it.   That is, one can't even if one wants to if the
> spouse says no. Does it vary by state, or are some replies wrong?
> 
> What is the typical rule?

It varies from state to state, and there are two kinds of privilege:
1. Communication Privilege
2. Testimonial Privilege

Communication privilege relates to what one spouse tells the other. The 
law considers it good that people should be able to talk freely to their 
spouse and not have to worry about what might come out in court years later.

In most states, either spouse can invoke testimonial privilege. That is, 
if I tell my wife something that I don't want coming out, she can refuse 
to testify, but I can also keep her from testifying about that.

Testimonial privilege: A person can refuse to testify against his/her 
spouse. This is supposed to protect marital harmony. In some states, a 
person can prevent his/her spouse from testifying against him/her. 
Also, there are exceptions. You might want to read
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spousal_privilege

General (but not legal) advice: WIYF.

Also, with regard to "they", see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they
again, WIYF.
-- 
I do so have a memory. It's backed up on DVD... somewhere...