Free Consultations & We're Available 24/7
WE'RE A BOUTIQUE LAW FIRM.
TRUST 50 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
WE SERVICE CLIENTS NATIONWIDE.
So your probably horrified at the thought of being forced to testify against your own husband or wife in a grand jury proceeding, or maybe prosecutors are threatening to make you choose between protecting your spouse and going to jail for contempt, or worse – you’ve already been subpoenaed and your marriage is about to become evidence in there investigation. Maybe you think marriage means you never have to testify against each other. Maybe your hoping love conquers subpoenas. Or maybe you believe the government can’t force spouses to turn on each other. Look, let me tell you something – your desperately trying to protect both your marriage and your freedom. But heres the COMPLICATED truth – while spousal privilege MIGHT protect you from testifying against your spouse in a grand jury, there are SO MANY exceptions that you could still be forced to testify, especially if the crimes involve children, domestic violence, or pre-marriage conduct according to federal spousal privilege law that’s full of holes!
Yes, spousal testimonial privilege exists in federal grand jury proceedings, but its nothing like the absolute protection you see in movies. Under federal law, you generally cannot be forced to testify against your current spouse who’s the subject of a grand jury investigation. But “generally” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.
The privilege belongs to YOU as the witness-spouse, not to your spouse being investigated. That means YOU decide whether to testify or not – your spouse can’t stop you if you choose to talk. If you want to protect your spouse, you can invoke the privilege. If you want to testify against them (maybe the marriage is over), you can waive it. The choice is yours alone.
This creates brutal situations. Your spouse might be begging you not to testify, but if prosecutors convince you to waive the privilege, there’s nothing your spouse can do. Conversely, you might want to help prosecutors, but if you invoke privilege, they can’t force you. The power dynamic in marriages gets completely screwed up by criminal investigations.
And heres the kicker – the privilege only applies to CURRENT spouses. The moment you get divorced, even if its after you receive the subpoena, the privilege disappears. Prosecutors have been known to delay proceedings hoping couples will divorce, eliminating the privilege. Some desperate spouses stay married just to maintain privilege protection.
The spousal privilege has more holes than Swiss cheese. If prosecutors can fit your situation into any exception, your privilege vanishes and you MUST testify or face contempt. These exceptions are interpreted broadly because courts prioritize criminal investigations over marital harmony.
CRIME AGAINST CHILDREN: If your spouse is accused of ANY crime against ANY child – not just your children – the privilege is GONE. Child abuse, neglect, endangerment, sexual crimes, even financial crimes affecting children destroy spousal privilege. This exception is interpreted extremely broadly. Drug dealing near schools? Might count. Financial fraud affecting college funds? Could qualify.
CRIMES AGAINST YOU: If your spouse committed crimes against you – domestic violence, threats, financial abuse, stalking – no privilege exists. Even if you’ve forgiven them, even if you don’t want to testify, even if testifying will destroy your marriage, you MUST testify. The government decides what’s best for you, not you.
Spousal privilege only covers things that happened DURING your marriage. Everything before you said “I do” is fair game. Met your spouse while they were committing crimes? You must testify about it. Dated during a conspiracy? No privilege. Engaged when the fraud occurred? Too bad, you weren’t married yet.
This temporal limitation devastates couples who’ve been together for years before marriage. That decade of dating where you witnessed everything? Completely unprotected. Prosecutors love finding crimes that started before marriage because it eliminates privilege complications entirely.
Even worse, ongoing crimes that started before marriage might not be protected even for the parts during marriage. If the conspiracy began while dating and continued after marriage, prosecutors argue the entire crime lacks privilege. Courts often agree, finding ways to force testimony about “continuing offenses.”
Prosecutors scrutinize marriage dates obsessively. They’ll demand marriage certificates, check records, investigate whether your marriage is even legally valid. Common law marriages, religious ceremonies without legal recognition, marriages in foreign countries – all create privilege questions prosecutors exploit.
If you and your spouse participated in crimes together, the “crime-fraud exception” obliterates spousal privilege. You can’t use marriage to protect criminal partnerships. If you both were involved in the conspiracy, fraud, drug dealing, money laundering, whatever – no privilege exists for those activities.
This exception is devastating because prosecutors define “participation” broadly. You didn’t have to commit crimes yourself. Knowing about them might be enough. Benefiting from criminal proceeds could qualify. Even innocent activities that furthered crimes might destroy privilege.
Example: Your spouse runs a fraud scheme. You just deposited checks they gave you, thinking it was legitimate business income. Prosecutors argue you participated by handling criminal proceeds. Now you must testify about everything, even conversations you thought were protected marital communications.
The joint participation exception encourages prosecutors to investigate both spouses. Even if they only want one spouse, implicating both eliminates privilege problems. They’ll threaten to charge both spouses, then offer immunity to one for testimony against the other. Marriage becomes a weapon they use against you.
Grand jury proceedings are secret, which creates unique problems for spousal privilege. You can’t discuss your testimony with your spouse (that would violate secrecy rules). Your spouse can’t be present when you testify. You might not even know what evidence prosecutors have against your spouse.
This secrecy means you’re making privilege decisions blind. Should you invoke privilege? What if prosecutors have exceptions you don’t know about? What if invoking privilege makes things worse? You’re forced to make marriage-destroying decisions without complete information.
Prosecutors exploit this information imbalance. They’ll suggest (without stating directly) that exceptions might apply. They’ll imply your spouse has already implicated you. They’ll claim other witnesses have testified about your involvement. You don’t know what’s true, and you can’t verify anything because of secrecy rules.
The isolation is psychological torture. Your spouse is under investigation, your marriage is under attack, and you’re alone in that grand jury room making decisions that affect both your futures. No spouse present, no real-time legal consultation about privilege, just you facing prosecutors who want to destroy your marriage for evidence.
Even if spousal privilege applies, prosecutors can potentially override it with immunity grants. If they give your spouse immunity, some courts have ruled this “sufficiently insulates” them from harm, making privilege unnecessary. Your protection becomes their compulsion tool.
This creates an impossible situation. Prosecutors immunize your spouse to force testimony against you. Your spouse must choose: testify against you or go to jail for contempt. The marriage is destroyed either way. Immunity becomes a wedge prosecutors drive between spouses.
Some jurisdictions are stricter about immunity overriding spousal privilege, but the threat always exists. Prosecutors will explore every avenue to compel spousal testimony. If direct compulsion fails, they’ll try immunity. If that fails, they’ll look for exceptions. They never stop trying.
Federal and state spousal privilege rules differ significantly. Federal privilege might protect you while state law doesn’t, or vice versa. If both jurisdictions are investigating, you might be protected in one court while being forced to testify in another. The complexity is mind-breaking.
Some states don’t recognize spousal privilege in grand jury proceedings at all. Others have broader exceptions than federal law. Still others protect more than federal law. You need to know exactly which jurisdiction is investigating and what their specific privilege rules are.
Multi-jurisdictional investigations are nightmares for married couples. You might invoke federal privilege successfully, only to be subpoenaed by state prosecutors who don’t recognize it. Or state privilege protects you, but federal prosecutors find exceptions. There’s no unified protection across jurisdictions.
Call us RIGHT NOW at 212-300-5196
Spousal privilege has MASSIVE exceptions – you need expert help protecting your marriage!
Available 24/7 to navigate the complex rules of spousal testimony!
The bottom line is you MIGHT be protected from testifying against your spouse in a grand jury by spousal privilege, but the exceptions could easily force your testimony anyway! Crimes against children, crimes against spouses, pre-marriage conduct, and joint criminal participation all destroy privilege. You hold the privilege, not your spouse, so the choice (and pressure) falls on you. Grand jury secrecy means making these decisions blind. Immunity can override privilege. Different jurisdictions have different rules. Call us IMMEDIATELY if you’re being subpoenaed about your spouse – we’ll analyze whether privilege applies, identify potential exceptions, and protect both your marriage and your freedom from prosecutors who’ll exploit any weakness!
This is attorney advertising. Prior results dont guarantee similar outcomes. Spousal privilege rules vary significantly by jurisdiction.
Very diligent, organized associates; got my case dismissed. Hard working attorneys who can put up with your anxiousness. I was accused of robbing a gemstone dealer. Definitely A law group that lays out all possible options and best alternative routes. Recommended for sure.
- ROBIN, GUN CHARGES ROBIN
NJ CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS