Opinion ID: 1774360
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: spousal privilege/hearsay

Text: At trial, both Appellant and his wife, Becky Slaven, invoked the spousal privilege enunciated in KRE 504. Although Becky did not testify at trial, numerous out-of-court statements made by her to other witnesses were admitted into evidence. Appellant identifies fourteen such statements which he asserts should have been suppressed. The Kentucky Rules of Evidence were adopted effective July 1, 1992. Prior to their adoption, the spousal privilege was set forth in KRS 421.210(1) (repealed 1992 Ky.Acts ch. 324 § 30). That statute defined two separate privileges, (1) a testimonial privilege, by which one spouse could refuse to testify as a witness against the other spouse, and (2) a marital communications privilege, by which a party spouse could prohibit a witness spouse from testifying to any confidential communications between them during the marriage. Estes v. Commonwealth, Ky., 744 S.W.2d 421, 424 (1987). The testimonial privilege belonged solely to the witness spouse and could not be invoked by the party spouse. Taylor v. Commonwealth, Ky., 302 S.W.2d 378 (1957); Hall v. Commonwealth, 309 Ky. 74, 215 S.W.2d 840 (1948). If the witness spouse was willing to testify, the party spouse could invoke the marital communications privilege to prevent the witness spouse from testifying as to confidential marital communications. Delk v. Commonwealth, Ky., 286 S.W.2d 531 (1956). The term communication included more than mere verbal or written discourse between spouses. The word communication therefore, as used in our statute, should be given a liberal construction. It should not be confined to a mere statement by the husband to the wife or vice versa; but should be construed to embrace all knowledge upon the part of the one or the other obtained by reason of the marriage relation, and which, but for the confidence growing out of it, would not have been known to the party. Commonwealth v. Sapp, 90 Ky. 580, 14 S.W. 834, 835 (1890). The term confidential did not include communications made within the hearing of another person, Clark v. Commonwealth, 269 Ky. 587, 108 S.W.2d 532 (1937), in the presence of another person, York's Ancillary Adm'r v. Bromley, 286 Ky. 533, 151 S.W.2d 28 (1941), or which could have been observed by another person. Hall v. Commonwealth, supra . A positive expectation of confidentiality was not required. Beddow's Adm'r v. Barbourville Water, Ice & Light Co., 252 Ky. 267, 66 S.W.2d 821 (1933). In fact, an eavesdropper who surreptitiously overheard a conversation between spouses could testify to what he or she had overheard. E.g., Commonwealth v. Everson, 123 Ky. 330, 96 S.W. 460 (1906). Otherwise, anything done or said between spouses in private was considered confidential in the absence of evidence of a contrary intention. Beddow's Adm'r v. Barbourville Water, Ice & Light Co., supra . The Kentucky Rules of Evidence changed the spousal privilege in two significant respects. First, the testimonial privilege was expanded to enable a party spouse to preclude a witness spouse from testifying against him. KRE 504(a). [1] Thus, even if Appellant's wife had been willing to testify against him, Appellant could have prevented her from doing so by invoking the privilege. Second, the marital communications privilege was narrowed by defining the term confidential to require not only that the communication was made in private, but also that it was not intended for disclosure to any other person, i.e., there must have been a positive expectation of confidentiality. KRE 504(b). [2] The statements alleged to have been privileged in this case are overlaid with the additional problem of being in the form of apparent hearsay. This was the issue addressed in Estes v. Commonwealth, supra , which was decided prior to the adoption of KRE 504. Estes was charged with the murder of his wife's paramour, O'Nan. When Mrs. Estes invoked her privilege not to testify against her husband, the Commonwealth sought to introduce two out-of-court statements she had made about the incident. The first was a written statement given to the police which described the facts leading up to the killing, including that Estes had forced her to call O'Nan on the telephone to set up a meeting at a local automobile dealership, that Estes then disconnected the phone and departed the house in possession of a firearm, and that Mrs. Estes rushed to the scene only to hear the fatal shots fired just before her arrival. It was held on appeal that this entire statement was inadmissible as hearsay, because it did not satisfy any recognized exception to the hearsay rule, thus, we need not decide which portions of the written statement ... are confidential communications and which are not. Id., at 424. The clear implication of this statement is that if any portion of the written statement had satisfied a recognized exception to the hearsay rule, that portion would have been subjected to further scrutiny to determine whether it fell within the marital communications privilege. In other words, privileged information is not made admissible simply because it is contained in an out-of-court statement which falls within an exception to the hearsay rule. The statement must be admissible under both Article V (Privileges) and Article VIII (Hearsay) of the Rules of Evidence. Otherwise, the privilege would be illusory, subject to being lost by a mere unauthorized voluntary disclosure to a third party. However, our treatment of the second out-of-court statement addressed in Estes, supra , appears to have been to the contrary. An investigating officer, who was standing nearby, testified that Mrs. Estes approached her fallen paramour and that as soon as he [O'Nan] saw her [Cindy Estes] he reached out his ... hand closest to Cindy, and said Cindy he [the appellant] said he was going to do it didn't he. Her response at that point was I know. She just nodded her head and said I know. Id. at 426. Mrs. Estes's statement, i.e., I know, clearly fell within the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule, now KRE 803(3). What is unclear is whether the statement was a disclosure of a privileged marital communication, i.e., did Mrs. Estes know because her husband had told her, or did she know because O'Nan had told her of an undisclosed threat made by Estes against him? Regardless, it was treated as if it were a privileged marital communication and held properly admitted because it was offered by a third party who overheard the statement being made. A person who has overheard a conversation between a husband and wife [emphasis added] is not foreclosed from testifying about it because of the husband/wife privilege. Commonwealth v. Everson, 123 Ky. 330, 96 S.W. 460 (1906). A fortiori, here the police officer who overheard a conversation between the wife and the husband's victim is not foreclosed from repeating what she overheard regardless of whether the contents of the conversation include confidential communications between husband and wife. Id. at 426. In retrospect, we believe this statement to have been erroneous. In Commonwealth v. Everson , the statement was overheard by an eavesdropper to the actual conversation between the husband and wife. In Estes , the officer did not overhear the underlying statement made by Estes to his wife, i.e., that he was going to do it, but only heard Mrs. Estes's unauthorized disclosure that the statement had been made. Thus, even if the statement satisfied the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule, it should have been excluded as an unauthorized disclosure of a privileged marital communication. Appellant asserts that since KRE 504(a) has expanded the testimonial privilege to enable a party spouse to prevent a witness spouse from testifying against him, he also should be able to preclude the introduction of all out-of-court statements of his spouse, even those which do not qualify as marital communications. There is some support for this argument in federal cases decided prior to the United States Supreme Court's abolition of this aspect of the federal common law spousal privilege. [3] United States v. Williams, 447 F.2d 894 (5th Cir.1971); Ivey v. United States, 344 F.2d 770 (5th Cir.1965). To do so, however, would ignore the almost universal rule that privileges should be strictly construed, because they contravene the fundamental principle that the public ... has a right to every man's evidence. United States v. Bryan, 339 U.S. 323, 331, 70 S.Ct. 724, 730, 94 L.Ed. 884 (1950). See also Trammel v. United States, supra note 1, 445 U.S. at 50, 100 S.Ct. at 912, 63 L.Ed.2d 186; United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 709-10, 94 S.Ct. 3090, 3108-09, 41 L.Ed.2d 1039 (1974); cf. Meenach v. General Motors Corp., Ky., 891 S.W.2d 398, 402 (1995). Thus, we conclude that an out-of-court statement of a witness who is precluded from testifying because of invocation of the spousal privilege is admissible if that statement falls within a recognized exception to the hearsay rule and if it does not divulge a confidential marital communication. The trial judge concluded that KRE 804(a)(1) authorized the admission of all of Becky Slaven's out-of-court statements. However, KRE 804(a)(1) only categorizes Becky Slaven as an unavailable witness. Whether any of her out-of-court statements fall within an exception to the hearsay rule must be determined by reference to the hearsay exceptions set forth in KRE 803, which apply regardless of her availability as a witness, and KRE 804(b), which apply only because she is unavailable as defined in KRE 804(a). On appeal, the Commonwealth concedes that KRE 804(a)(1) does not authorize the carte blanche admission of all of Becky Slaven's out-of-court statements, but argues instead that all of her statements are admissible under KRE 804(b)(3) as statements contrary to her pecuniary, proprietary or penal interest. The Commonwealth's theory is that any statement made by a wife tending to incriminate her husband in criminal activity is ipso facto a statement against her own pecuniary or proprietary interest. No authority is cited for this proposition and none is found. In order for this exception to apply, the affected pecuniary or proprietary interest must not be too indirect or remote, Fisher v. Duckworth, Ky., 738 S.W.2d 810, 815 (1987), and there must be proof that the declarant knew when the statement was made that it was against his or her pecuniary interest. The burden is on the party wishing to use the exception to establish that foundation. Id. The statements in question do not satisfy any of these requirements for admission under KRE 803(b)(3). We now examine each of Becky Slaven's out-of-court statements to determine (1) whether the statement is hearsay, (2) whether it falls within an exception to the hearsay rule, (3) whether it is excluded by application of the marital communications privilege, and/or (4) whether its admission was prejudicial. 1. The investigating officer, Chief Rod Maggard, testified that Becky told him that Appellant owned a 9-mm handgun. The statement did not disclose information intended to be confidential, since a number of other witnesses knew that Appellant owned the weapon and that he had it in his possession on the day of the murder. However, the statement was offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted, since the police knew Terry Noble had been shot with a 9-mm handgun. KRE 801(c). The statement was hearsay and not within any recognized exception to the hearsay rule. Although the statement should have been excluded, its admission was harmless error, since Appellant's ownership of the weapon was not contested. 2. Phyllis Caudill testified that she had a telephone conversation with Becky on the night of the murder, which lasted from 6:58 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., during which Becky told her that Appellant was not at home. This statement was within the hearsay exception for a present sense impression, KRE 803(1), since Becky was describing an event at the time she was perceiving it. The statement did not disclose a privileged marital communication, since Appellant's absence from the home during that period of time was not confidential information. He was at that time still in the company of Jones, Gadberry and/or Jody Bowen. Nor was it prejudicial, since the murder was not committed during that time frame. 3. Caudill testified that she talked to Becky again at 8:30 p.m. and that Becky told her that Appellant had come home, taken the car, and told her that he was going to go riding around town. The statement was hearsay and not within the present sense impression exception, since it did not describe an event as it was occurring. The statement was also privileged, because it revealed information obtained by reason of the confidence growing out of the marriage and obviously was not intended for disclosure to another person. It was prejudicial, because it directly conflicted with Appellant's alibi. 4. Caudill testified that she talked to Becky again between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. and that Becky told her that Appellant had come home and was passed out. If the statement had been that Appellant was at home and was passed out, it would have been admissible as a present sense impression. However, it was inadmissible hearsay to the extent that it related a past event. The statement was also privileged, although harmless, since it did not identify the time of Appellant's arrival, thus did not contradict his alibi. 5. Becky's father, Bill Moore, testified that Becky told him that Appellant was being questioned by the police. This statement was not hearsay, since it was not offered to prove the truth of any fact in issue. Nor was it a privileged marital communication, since the assertion did not reveal a fact intended to be kept confidential. (Obviously, the fact in question was known by the police.) 6. Mr. Moore testified that his wife, Alois Moore, told him she had called Becky at some unspecified time and that Becky had told her that Appellant was not at home. Although Becky's statement to her mother was within the present sense impression exception, there is no hearsay exception applicable to Mr. Moore's repetition of his wife's statement. KRE 805. However, its admission was harmless, since the statement did not place Appellant's absence in a time frame contrary to his alibi. 7. Although Mr. Moore testified that he thought Appellant and Becky arrived at his home sometime around 8:30 p.m. on the night of the murder, he also stated that he later asked Becky what time they arrived and she told him it was between 8:40 and 8:42 p.m. Although the statement was not privileged, it should have been excluded as inadmissible hearsay. It was prejudicial because it tended to conflict with Appellant's alibi. 8. Mr. Moore testified that Becky told him that Appellant left home at approximately 8:00 p.m., that he said he was going to meet someone who owed him some money, and that he was going to get the money and return; and that Appellant came back at around 8:30 p.m., came upstairs, and put his gun in the closet. The statement should have been excluded because it was not within any hearsay exception, because it divulged privileged marital communications, and because it was obviously prejudicial. 9. Mr. Moore testified that Becky told him she had decided to divorce Appellant because he was incarcerated and she had a baby, which made her think that she needed a fresh new life. Although the statement was not privileged, it was clearly inadmissible hearsay. It was prejudicial, because it implied that Becky believed Appellant was guilty and would be sentenced to a lengthy prison term. 10. Becky's mother, Alois Moore, testified that at some unspecified time before 8:00 p.m. on the night of the murder, she called Becky and Becky told her Appellant was not at home. The statement did not reveal a confidential marital communication and was admissible as a statement of present sense impression. 11. Mrs. Moore testified that the first time Becky told her Appellant was going to claim that someone else killed Terry Noble with Appellant's gun was after Appellant changed attorneys. The substance of the statement was not privileged, since it was not intended to be confidential. (Appellant claimed at trial that either Joey Gadberry or Jeff Jones could have robbed and killed Noble with Appellant's handgun.) Nor was it hearsay, since the statement was offered not to prove the truth of the matter asserted, but only to prove when the statement was made. 12. Joey Gadberry testified that Becky told him on the day after the murder that Appellant had left the house the previous night after Gadberry had brought him home. The statement should have been excluded as hearsay and as a privileged marital communication. The statement was prejudicial, since it contradicted Appellant's alibi. 13. Jeff Jones testified that after Appellant had been identified as a suspect in the murder, Becky told him that she had learned that Appellant had never left home that night. The statement was not privileged, since it was not intended to be confidential. On the contrary, the intent of the statement was to establish Appellant's alibi. Nor was the statement hearsay, since it was not offered to prove the truth of the alibi, but to prove that Becky made the statement, from which it could be inferred that she and Appellant had concocted the alibi after-the-fact. 14. Patty Slavan, Appellant's mother, testified that Becky admitted to her that she had told the police that Appellant's 9-mm handgun was at Patty's house at the time of the murder. The statement was not privileged. However, it was inadmissible as hearsay, since it was offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted, i.e., that Becky lied to the police about the location of the murder weapon. The statement was prejudicial, since it tended to prove that Appellant and Becky were attempting to concoct a false alibi, which would create an inference of Appellant's guilt. (The statement was not admissible as against Becky's penal interest, KRE 804(b)(3), because it is not a crime in Kentucky to make a false verbal statement to the police. Compare KRS 523.100.) The admission of statements 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 12 and 14 constituted prejudicial error which requires reversal for a new trial. Although deemed harmless error, the admission of statements 1 and 6 was nevertheless erroneous and those statements should be excluded upon retrial.