Also known as: spousal relationships · spouse relationship · spousal relationship · marital relationship · spousal relation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
An area of constitutional protection that surrounds intimate decisions within marriage and shields those decisions from unwarranted state interference.
An evidentiary protection that prevents disclosure of confidential communications exchanged between spouses during marriage and that may also limit compelled adverse testimony.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
An area of constitutional protection that surrounds intimate decisions within marriage and shields those decisions from unwarranted state interference.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An evidentiary protection that prevents disclosure of confidential communications exchanged between spouses during marriage and that may also limit compelled adverse testimony.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Sasha Stone and her husband seek contraceptive counseling at a public university health center. The state board requires both spouses to attend pro-family seminars before any materials are provided. The couple sues, claiming the requirement invades their protected marital decisions. The court applies heightened scrutiny and invalidates the policy because it directly burdens intimate choices within marriage.
Sabrina Shah agrees to marry Spencer Silver solely so he can obtain immigration status. They sign a side agreement stating they will never live together or share finances and will end the arrangement after one year. Immigration authorities later challenge the marriage. The court holds the collateral agreement invalid as contrary to public policy even though the formal ceremony satisfied procedural requirements.
A husband is charged with raping his wife after a protective order required them to live apart. He claims the marital exemption shields him. The court removes the exemption, holding that the marital relationship no longer provides immunity once the spouses live separately under court order.
Two adults in a long-term committed relationship are prosecuted under a state sodomy statute for private consensual acts. They challenge the law as an unconstitutional intrusion. The court invalidates the statute because it reaches conduct within the protected sphere of personal relationships.
Some courts uphold the marriage if the parties satisfied all formal requirements and were competent. Collateral agreements that contradict core marital obligations are unenforceable as against public policy.
Supporting sources
Solomon Silver faces federal charges. Prosecutors subpoena his former wife Sophia Singh to disclose statements he made to her in their bedroom during the marriage about business dealings. Sophia refuses, asserting the privilege. The court upholds her refusal because the statements were made in confidence during the marriage and the privilege survives divorce.
Simon Stern is indicted for fraud. Federal prosecutors seek to compel his wife to testify about events during their marriage. The wife refuses. The court rules that the privilege belongs to the witness spouse in federal court, so she cannot be forced to testify against her husband.
Yes. The privilege protects confidential communications made during the marriage even after the marriage ends. Either spouse may invoke it to prevent disclosure.
Supporting sources
The witness spouse alone holds the privilege. The witness may choose to testify even if the defendant spouse objects.
Supporting sources
…on use prevents married people from possessing contraceptives and without the ready availability of such devices for use in the marital relationship, there will be no or less temptation to use them in extramarital ones. This reasoning rests on the premise that married people will comply with the ban in regard to their marital…