Court Opinion

ID: 9544701
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:59:54.563059+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:13:28.805319
License: Public Domain

BERNSTEIN, Justice
(specially concurring) .
Although I concur in the announced result, I would add a special word to emphasize that, in my view, the decision in the instant case should not be read as a departure from the long standing rule of interpretation concerning our corroboration statute, i. e., that, where the circumstances afford assurance that collusion is not present, the statute requires only slight corroboratory evidence.
In such cases, the policy of the statute does not require, and we should not encourage, any unnecessary rubbing of salt into the psychic wounds caused by marital discord. We should be particularly understanding of the complainant who does not wish to call upon his or her children to “take sides” in the matter by offering corroboratory evidence as to unpleasant details.
The difficulty in this case is that no corroboratory evidence whatever was offered as to any alleged act of cruelty. Whatever relaxation of the rule of evidence circumstances might warrant, the majority opinion rightly concludes that the rule cannot be abrogated by ignoring it.