Opinion ID: 421753
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Exculpatory Nature of the Testimony

Text: 14 The third basis for the district court's ruling was that the privilege not to testify against a spouse applies only when the testimony would, on its face, be adverse to the spouse. The rationale is that the purpose of the privilege is to maintain marital harmony, and testimony which is facially exculpatory, even if being used by the government to obtain a conviction, would not threaten marital harmony. Although there is some appeal to this argument, we are troubled by potential problems with subjective determinations of whether a witness' testimony possibly leading to the spouse's conviction would in fact be disruptive of marital harmony. Because the joint participants and pre-marriage acts exceptions clearly make the privilege unavailable to Clark, we need not rule on whether a witness can rely on the privilege not to testify against a spouse when the testimony is facially exculpatory. 15 The judgment of the district court is affirmed.