Opinion ID: 778298
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Analysis of Cox's Privilege Claims

Text: 95 Cox confessed his killing of the Chervus — at times explicitly, at other times less so — to no fewer than seven fellow A.A. members: (1) Jessica, his former girlfriend, (2) Mr. C, Cox's A.A. sponsor, (3) Mr. O, a senior member of Cox's A.A. chapter, (4) Mr. A, a former gang member who attended some A.A. meetings at which Cox was present, (5) Mr. S, another fellow A.A. member, (6) Mr. R, Cox's roommate and personal friend, and (7) Ms. H, another A.A. member who shared an apartment with Cox and R for about two months. Cox, the congregant seeking to invoke the privilege, bore the burden to establish that his communications to these persons fell within the scope of § 4505. See Drelich, 123 A.D.2d at 443, 506 N.Y.S.2d at 748; accord Schultz, 161 A.D.2d at 971, 557 N.Y.S.2d at 545. He failed to carry it. Assuming that all the relevant conversations were made in confidence, the record makes clear that Cox did not confess his culpability for the Chervu killings for the purpose of obtaining spiritual guidance. Carmona, 82 N.Y.2d at 609, 606 N.Y.S.2d at 882, 627 N.E.2d at 962. 96 The first fellow A.A. member to whom Cox confessed was Jessica, then his girlfriend. In a fit of tears, Cox told her that he believed he had killed the Chervus. Nothing in Cox's testimony suggests that this emotional outpouring to a lover reflected a search for spiritual guidance. 97 Jessica told Cox to speak to his A.A. sponsor, Mr. C., about his fears. Cox argues that he sought C's guidance about a spiritual matter, namely, how to handle the fourth step of A.A.'s religiously imbued program of recovery from alcoholism. But the record does not, we think, bear out this argument. C, by his own account, did not think himself capable of dealing with Cox's confession. He responded by asking for and receiving Cox's permission to speak to other A.A. members. Mr. C and Mr. O, with whom C later shared Cox's story, advised Cox to get a private detective or a lawyer. While the relevant inquiry is what Cox sought rather than what advice C and O, the putative clerics, in fact gave him, the nature of their ongoing communications with Cox suggests that he sought practical and legal, not spiritual, advice. See Wells, 446 F.2d at 4 (rejecting a federal commonlaw privilege claim where the defendant requested that a priest help him to contact an FBI agent); Drelich, 123 A.D.2d at 443, 506 N.Y.S.2d at 748 (rejecting a privilege claim under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 4505 where the defendant sought the advice of clergy for the secular purpose of seeking assistance in the retention of counsel); Schultz, 161 A.D.2d at 971-72, 557 N.Y.S.2d at 545 (same). 14 98 Cox subsequently confessed to Mr. A because, Cox testified, A was someone who talked openly about his gang involvement in Oakland ... someone who I felt possibly could identify with what I was going through. Cox appears to have viewed A as a friend with whom he might share a common experience. A testified that Cox spoke to him because he was getting close to the fourth step and didn't want to go to jail. No plausible reading of this testimony supports the view that Cox sought A's spiritual guidance. Similarly, there is no basis in the record for a conclusion that Cox's multiple conversations with Mr. S., in which Cox described the Chervu killings in some detail, had anything whatever to do with Cox's desire for spiritual or religious guidance. 99 Finally, Cox revealed his culpability for the Chervu killings to Mr. R, his roommate, and to Ms. H, who proceeded to share their apartment for two months. The record indicates that Cox told R about the killings not to seek spiritual guidance, but because the two of them had become friends. And far from seeking spiritual guidance from H, the A.A. member who first informed law enforcement officers of Cox's story, Cox testified that he told H about the killings because he thought she should be aware of them before deciding to share an apartment with him. 100 In sum, Cox spoke with other A.A. members primarily to unburden himself, to seek empathy and emotional support, and perhaps in some instances to seek practical guidance (e.g., legal advice). Nothing in the record suggests that Cox confessed to A.A. members for the purpose of obtaining spiritual guidance. Carmona, 82 N.Y.2d at 609, 606 N.Y.S.2d at 882, 627 N.E.2d at 962. Under New York State law, the statements made by Cox therefore do not fall within the scope of § 4505, even assuming that A.A. is a religion to which the cleric-congregant privilege ordinarily would apply. 15 101