Opinion ID: 852753
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Who Qualifies as a Spouse

Text: At common law two rules restricted spousal testimony. First, a testimonial privilege allowed either spouse to prevent the other from testifying against him or her. 8 Wigmore, Evidence § 2227 (McNaughton rev.1961). This privilege was not limited to confidential communications but was available only to spouses who were married at the time of trial. Shepherd v. State, 257 Ind. 229, 232, 277 N.E.2d 165, 167 (1971); 8 Wigmore, supra, § 2230. The testimonial privilege was justified on the ground that it prevented discord between spouses. Hawkins v. United States, 358 U.S. 74, 77, 79 S.Ct. 136, 3 L.Ed.2d 125 (1958); 8 Wigmore, supra, § 2228. In addition to preserving marital harmony, this testimonial privilege was viewed as avoiding what was thought to be the naturally repugnant spectacle of a wife compelled to testify against her husband. Hawkins, 358 U.S. at 77-79, 79 S.Ct. 136; 8 Wigmore, supra, § 2228. This spousal testimonial privilege is not recognized in Indiana law. State v. Roach, 669 N.E.2d 1009, 1010 (Ind.Ct.App.1996). A second common law rule disqualified husbands and wives from testifying on behalf of their spouses. 2 Wigmore, supra, § 600. This competency rule was the product of the early common law disqualification of parties from testifying in their own causes, and also the notion that husband and wife were one. 2 Wigmore, supra, § 601. The rationale for spousal incompetence was first advanced by Lord Coke in 1 E. Coke, The First of the Institutes of the Lawes of England 6b (London 1628). If one spouse could not testify in his or her own behalf, neither could the other component of the marital unity. Because of the unity of spouses, the wife shared her husband's disqualification as an interested party. 2 Wigmore, supra, §§ 575, 600. Indiana law preserved this concept in the Civil Code of 1881, but the courts have limited its application primarily to will disputes. See I.C. § 34-45-2-9; Taylor v. Taylor, 643 N.E.2d 893, 896 (Ind.1994); Lee v. Schroeder, 529 N.E.2d 349, 353 (Ind.Ct.App.1988), trans. denied. It also showed up in a case turning on the dead man's statute issues, and in actions of a husband for an alleged seduction of his wife. Bechert v. Lehe, 161 Ind.App. 454, 457, 316 N.E.2d 394, 397 (1974) (dead man's statute issue); Judah v. Goldsmith, 90 Ind.App. 81, 83, 164 N.E. 496, 498 (1929) (seduction); Mainard v. Beider, 2 Ind.App. 115, 116, 28 N.E. 196, 197 (1891) (seduction). In the 1800s a third doctrine arose, first in the statutory reforms found in the Common Law Procedure Act. This took the form of a marital privilege protecting communications between husband and wife, distinct from the earlier testimonial privilege. 8 Wigmore, supra, § 2333. As Wigmore cautioned: The two privileges have little in common, either in policy or in rule. Their separation needs repeated emphasis if the possibility of confusion is to be avoided. Id. at § 2334. The marital communications privilege differs from the testimonial privilege in several respects. It is limited to confidential communications protecting only communications between individuals who have entered into a legally recognized marriage, and survives the termination of the marriage. Holt v. State, 481 N.E.2d 1324, 1326 (Ind.1985); Beyerline v. State, 147 Ind. 125, 130, 45 N.E. 772, 774 (1897). In the mid-nineteenth century, most United States jurisdictions abolished or restricted the testimonial privilege and the competency rule, but the marital communications privilege was generally preserved. 8 Wigmore, supra, § 2333. In Indiana the marital privilege has been in place since at least 1881 as a subsection of the statute addressing a number of privileges. It now appears at Indiana Code section 34-46-3-1(4), which reads: [1] Except as otherwise provided by statute, the following persons shall not be required to testify regarding the following communications: ... (4) Husband and wife, as to communications made to each other. It is undisputed that Glover's marriage to Dhaliwal was valid under Kentucky law and at the time of the alleged communication had not been voided or annulled. The State argues that Glover's conversation with Dhaliwal nevertheless enjoyed no privilege because it had no relation to their mutual trust and confidence as husband and wife. The State argues that the marriage was entered into in an attempt to defraud the federal government, and therefore Glover should not enjoy the protections of the marital privilege. Stated differently, the State asks this Court to expand the requirement of a legal marriage, as announced in Holt, to exclude communications between individuals who have entered into a fraudulent or sham marriage. The State cites Lutwak v. United States, 344 U.S. 604, 73 S.Ct. 481, 97 L.Ed. 593 (1953) in support of its position. In Lutwak, a World War II veteran was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States after entering into marriage for the purpose of deceiving the immigration authorities. Much of the evidence of the conspiracy came from Lutwak's spouse, and Lutwak argued that his marital relationship prevented his wife from testifying as to confidential communications between them. The Court concluded that where the parties entered into a sham marriage to defraud the federal government, [t]he light of reason and experience do not compel [the Court] to so interpret the common law as to disqualify the ostensible spouse from testifying. Id. at 615, 73 S.Ct. 481. The State also points to Archina v. People, 135 Colo. 8, 307 P.2d 1083, 1091-92 (1957), where the Colorado Supreme Court held that the Colorado marital privilege did not apply because the marriage was performed for the purpose of enabling the defendant to gain admittance to the United States. The court pointed out that the defendant and his wife had been married in a civil ceremony but there was to be a subsequent ceremony performed in accordance with the religious convictions of both and after such second ceremony and only then would they consider themselves husband and wife. Id. at 1092. The court concluded that the Colorado legislature did not intend to protect the relationship between the defendant and his wife in a cold, inanimate, lifeless relationship which had its beginning and end in a preliminary civil contract. Id. The Court of Appeals held that Lutwak, as a ruling on evidence in federal courts, was not binding under Indiana law, and that Indiana recognized no fraudulent marriage exception to the marital privilege. Glover, 816 N.E.2d at 1200. We agree. The reasons why individuals get married can be varied and complex. Dhaliwal testified that the marriage was never consummated and was purely to permit her to remain in the United States. Glover responds that assisting Dhaliwal with her immigration status was not his sole purpose for entering into the marriage. He claims that he was in love with her and when asked whether they consummated the marriage Glover hesitantly answered, I'd say yes. His communication to her was presumably based on his expectation of confidentiality, and there is no basis to conclude the marriage was for purposes of disqualifying Dhaliwal as a witness. Indiana generally recognizes that privileges are statutory in nature and that it is within the power of the legislature to create them. Terre Haute Reg'l Hosp., Inc. v. Trueblood, 600 N.E.2d 1358, 1360 (Ind.1992). If the General Assembly chooses to engraft a qualification onto the marital privilege based on the quality of the marriage it is of course free to do that. But we are reluctant to require courts to inquire into the quality of a marriage beyond examining whether the marriage was for purposes of disqualifying a witness. See United States v. Lilley, 581 F.2d 182, 189 (8th Cir.1978) (refusing to condition the privilege on a judicial determination that the marriage is a happy or successful one); People v. Fields, 38 A.D.2d 231, 328 N.Y.S.2d 542, 544-545 (N.Y.App.Div.1972); State v. Freeman, 302 N.C. 591, 276 S.E.2d 450, 455 n. 2 (1981). We think it is important to note that Lutwak and Archina dealt with claims of spousal incompetence, not privileges. In both cases, the wife was willing to testify but her husband sought to preclude her. As explained below, we conclude that the Indiana privilege does not prevent a spouse from testifying if he or she chooses to do so. The Indiana privilege is therefore less of a bar to access to information, and the reasons for seeking to examine the quality of a marriage in this context are less persuasive. Because we conclude that the privilege is waivable by either spouse, the issue of the quality of a marriage will matter only in circumstances where one spouse is not willing to testify against the other. That seems likely to occur only where the two are co-conspirators, as in Lutwak, or there is some form of common bond between the two. In the case of co-conspirators, the self-incrimination privilege will ordinarily be available to both spouses. If a loyalty exists between the two, it suggests the marriage was indeed a genuine relationship. We therefore see little benefit, and some mischief, in inquiring into the quality of a marriage. There are limits to the marital privilege, but none apply here. The State directs us to authority from other courts that have held the marital privilege inapplicable where the purpose of the marriage was to prevent the testimony of the witness spouse. Osborne v. State, 623 P.2d 784 (Alaska 1981); Wells v. Commonwealth, 562 S.W.2d 622 (Ky.1978). We agree that such a marriage may amount to a fraud on the court. But we are not faced with a marriage designed to prevent access to testimony. The marriage in this case was entered into before the crime in question and for reasons other than to prevent Dhaliwal from testifying. Similarly, communications in an effort to provide false testimony are not protected by the privilege because they are intended to cause communications to others. [2] But as a general proposition, we hold that a marriage valid under applicable law is sufficient to permit a witness to invoke the marital privilege.