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Bill Would Let Domestic‑violence Victims Introduce Spousal Communications in Trial
Summary
Delegate Simpson reintroduced HB 241 to carve out an exception to the marital communications privilege for criminal actions alleging assault or other specified crimes against a spouse; prosecutors and domestic‑violence advocates supported the change while the Maryland State Bar Association discussed the legal and policy history.
Delegate Simpson told the House Judiciary Committee that House Bill 241 would create an exception to the marital communications privilege in criminal actions alleging abuse against a spouse so a victim could introduce communications from the alleged perpetrator as evidence.
Brett Engler, a Frederick County prosecutor and chief of the domestic violence unit, said Maryland is among a small number of states without a statutory exception that allows a spouse to introduce communications by the other spouse in prosecutions for…
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