Opinion ID: 1325953
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Confidential Communication

Text: To assess whether the conversations between defendant and his wife were in fact protected by subsection 8-57(c), our analysis turns on whether there was a confidential communication between defendant and his wife in the DOC facilities. When defining a confidential communication in the context of the marital communications privilege, this Court has asked whether the communication... was induced by the marital relationship and prompted by the affection, confidence, and loyalty engendered by such relationship. State v. Freeman, 302 N.C. 591, 598, 276 S.E.2d 450, 454 (1981) (citations omitted); see also Holmes, 330 N.C. at 828, 412 S.E.2d at 661 (stating a confidential communication is information privately disclosed between a husband and wife in the confidence of the marital relationship (citing Trammel, 445 U.S. 40, 100 S.Ct. 906, 63 L.Ed.2d 186)). Other considerations have also influenced our previous determinations of whether certain communications qualify as confidential. The circumstances in which the communication takes place, including the physical location and presence of other individuals, have been relevant when answering the question: Has the veil of confidence been removed...? Hicks, 271 N.C. at 206, 155 S.E.2d at 801. Defendant argues that the setting and physical circumstances of the communication are irrelevant in analyzing whether the privilege applies, but we find that argument unsupported by precedent. For instance, in Freeman, this Court ruled that a defendant's incriminating statement to his wife in a public parking lot while in the presence of the wife's brother was not a confidential communication. 302 N.C. at 598, 276 S.E.2d at 454-55. On the other hand, this Court determined a marital communication to be confidential in Holmes when the defendant ordered two men out of his home before making a statement to his wife that he was going to kill one of them. 330 N.C. at 835, 412 S.E.2d at 665. Likewise, in Hicks, communications between a husband and wife were confidential when made in the basement of the couple's home, even though their eight-year-old daughter was `singing or playing in the area.' 271 N.C. at 205-07, 155 S.E.2d at 800-02. This Court in Hicks noted that the factual circumstances surrounding the wife's utterances stamped them as confidential. Id. at 207, 155 S.E.2d at 802. These cases illustrate that actual physical privacy, as well as a desire for and expectation of confidentiality, are important in establishing a confidential communication. [7] Legal scholars have also noted that physical privacy is germane to the existence of a confidential communication: The situs of the communication is a relevant factor in determining whether there was the requisite confidentiality at the time of the communication. It is possible to have a confidential conversation in a public place, but the public nature of the situs makes it more difficult to find the requisite privacy. The layperson must have a reasonable expectation of confidentiality. Edward J. Imwinkelried, The New Wigmore: A Treatise on Evidence § 6.8.1, at 674-75 (Richard D. Friedman ed. 2002) (footnotes omitted); see also Robert P. Moesteller et al., North Carolina Evidentiary Foundations § 8-2, at 8-6 (2d ed. 2004)(stating that a confidential communication requires (1) physical privacy, and (2) an intent on the holder's part to maintain secrecy). Essential to the question of determining whether the veil of confidentially [has] been removed from a marital communication are the physical surroundings and intent of the husband and wife in making the communication. For purposes of a confidential marital communication under subsection 8-57(c), there must be a reasonable expectation of privacy on the part of the holder and the intent that the communication be kept secret. Relevant factors in making this determination necessarily include the physical location where the communication is made and whether there are other individuals present at the time of the communication. [8]