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	Nun's Counseling Testimony Permitted at Trial of Man Accused of Killing Chatham Priest By Peggy Wright Daily Record October 18, 2011 http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20111018/NJNEWS/310180028/Judge-rules-nun-can-be-called-to-testify-at-trial-of-man-accused-of-killing-Chatham-priest A nun who counseled murder suspect Jose Feliciano in 2004 can be called by prosecutors as a trial witness, a judge ruled Tuesday, but the Sister of Charity said she would consult a lawyer if ordered to testify since she believes the therapy was confidential. Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan requested that Sister Catherine Morrisett appear in his courtroom Tuesday so he could determine whether her counseling of Feliciano in 2004 fell into a privileged category that couldn’t be breached — like the communications between psychologist and patient, attorney and client, and cleric and penitent. Morris County prosecutors say they have information related to the counseling that will “put a spear in the heart” of Feliciano’s claims that he stabbed the Rev. Edward Hinds to death in Chatham on Oct. 22, 2009, because the cleric insisted he continue their four-year homosexual relationship. On behalf of Feliciano, the longtime St. Patrick R.C. Church custodian, defense lawyers Neill Hamilton and Balin Baidwan want to keep Morrisett from testifying on the grounds that anything revealed to the therapist from Grace Counseling Center in Madison was privileged and confidential. The judge disagreed that Feliciano could avail himself of such a privilege. Manahan questioned Morrisett, a Sister of Charity of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station, at length about her background, and prosecutors and defense lawyers were permitted to ask questions. But they were not allowed to delve into the nature of the counseling, and, at one point, after Morrisett said she would consult a lawyer if compelled to take the witness stand, the judge closed the courtroom to finish the hearing. He issued his ruling after the nun departed. Manahan concluded that since Morrisett is not a licensed psychologist, court rules on privileged communications do not apply. Though a Catholic nun with a doctorate in ministry and trained as a therapist, she also is not a cleric authorized by the church to take confession or offer the sacrament of absolution for sins, the judge said. In questioning Morrisett, county Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi likened her counseling abilities to listening well and offering advice and referrals to more highly trained therapists. Morrisett agreed. All parties in the case have been deliberately vague in court about the nature of the counseling and how disclosures about it could hurt Feliciano’s defense. The counseling occurred five years before the homicide of Hinds in the kitchen of the St. Patrick Church rectory. Final jury selection is expected today, and opening trial statements, as of Tuesday, are scheduled for Thursday in Morristown.
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