Question: Brad has been drinking heavily after his shift at work. It is getting dark as he is driving home. He runs a red light at
Brad has been drinking heavily after his shift at work. It is getting dark as he is driving home. He runs a red light at high speed and kills and hits Arnold, a pedestrian, who is crossing legally with the light. He gets home, puts the car in the garage and bursts into his house. In a panic he blurts out all the facts on what happened to his wife, Serena. He tells her that she must give him an alibi for the night. After he finishes, he suddenly notices that Serena's friend Fiona is standing nearby and has heard every word. He tells Fiona that, "You better keep all of this quiet or something might happen to you." Fiona is a brave soul with a sense of right and wrong. She goes to the police and tells them everything and agrees to testify against Brad at trial. Brad's attorney says that Fiona cannot be a witness because Brads statements were given to Serena (his wife) and to reveal them would be a "Breach of Spousal Privilege." Can Fiona take the stand against Brad and why or why not He is right - The spousal privilege holds here, and Fiona cannot reveal the statements. He is right - But only because this is a "Hearsay" situation and what Fiona will be saying from the stand is "Hearsay." He is wrong - The is a "public policy" that any statements of any sort that concerns deaths caused by drunk driving be let into evidence. He is wrong - The presence of a third person (Fiona) when Brad made his "confession" to his wife breaks the spousal privilege and Fiona (and even S
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