UNITED STATES
The State Journal
By Andrea Lannom
If a person confesses a crime to a member of the clergy, would it still be private?
According to some lawyers, it depends.
Ashley Pack, a member of Dinsmore & Shohl’s Charleston office said there is national debate whether clergy members should be required to disclose information if it pertains to certain crimes.
“There has also been a religious basis of ‘are you putting a legal obligation above a religious obligation,'” Pack said.
According to the FindLaw blog, confessor/clergy privilege began in the 1813 case of People v. Phillips, where a man was charged with trafficking stolen goods. Although the defendant confessed the crime to his priest, the court concluded that the priest could not be called in to testify.
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