In a ruling that could affect all child abuse cases in Pennsylvania, a judge has ruled that text messages sent between a husband and wife dealing with abuse of a child are not confidential.

The ruling by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Walsh brings the ancient legal doctrine of “spousal privilege” into the 21^st century. “Spousal privilege” was created to protect communications between a husband and wife. Judge Walsh ruled that the privilege does not extend to protecting communications when the discussion involves child abuse.

Child abuse deserves special legal status because of the vulnerability of victims and the consequences of this particularly heinous crime. Judge Walsh has made the right decision to make an exception to established precedent in these circumstances.

The case involved a four-year-old boy who suffered cardiac arrest on March 16, 2011, and was subsequently found by medical workers to have suspicious and serious injuries. His stepmother was later charged with multiple assault-related charges. Her husband (the child’s biological father) was charged in a separate criminal case with endangering the welfare of a child.

According to prosecutors, the parents had exchanged text messages about the child’s injuries just prior to the child being taken to the hospital by emergency workers. Walsh called the texts “extremely damaging evidence.”

In his ruling, Judge Walsh noted that the original purpose of spousal communications privilege, established in 1824 English case law, was to preserve marital harmony by preserving marital confidences.

However, Walsh wrote, “In reviewing the messages, there is no hint of marital disharmony. But it would make a mockery of the privilege to hold that a person can keep secret her spouse’s knowledge of her child abuse or neglect. A fuller description of the ruling can be found in the Legal Intelligencer.

This Pennsylvania judge has put the welfare of children ahead of “marital harmony,” which is right and proper in Pennsylvania and in every state across the country.

 

Howard Janet has been representing plaintiffs in complex civil litigation for more than 30 years in the areas of medical malpractice, birth injuries, “whistleblower” lawsuits, and environmental litigation. Best Lawyers in America® honored him as the 2012 Lawyer of the Year–Personal Injury, Baltimore, MD. READ FULL BIO