By: Dr. Peter A. Barone, Esq.
Protection of Interests and Relationships
An examination of the Rules of Evidence demonstrates that unlike almost all other rules of evidence, the rules creating privileges are not designed to enhance the truth-finding function of court proceedings but they serve another purpose. The Rules of Evidence dealing with privileges address and acknowledge that other societal values such as privacy, the desire to encourage effective medical care or legal counsel, and governmental efficiency sometimes take precedent over the goal of ascertaining the truth in legal proceedings
Under the law there are certain relationships whose interests of privacy is protected and when someone tries to introduce evidence pertaining to one of the relationships then the court must weigh the value of having the facts be presented before the court against the protection of the interests and relationships, and during its deliberation it may decide to exclude relevant evidence from being admitted. Several personal interests and relationships have been and are currently regarded as having sufficient social importance to justify some sacrifice of sources of fact needed in the administration of justice.
Privileges
A “privilege” under the law
is an exception to the universal rule that no one may refuse to give testimony
or other evidence in a legal proceeding. This general rule promotes the
interests of justice by ensuring fair trials on all of the available evidence.
A privilege, which is not
a constitutional right, allows a person to object to their own or other’s
testimony about communications within certain confidential relationships. By
contrast, the right not to give testimony against oneself is a constitutional
right (“taking the Fifth,” in common parlance). Exercising a constitutional
right is not a “privilege,” and there are few exceptions to it.
Privileges are granted by
state and federal law in order to protect certain important relationships.
Among the best-known privileges are the attorney-client privilege and the
doctor-patient privilege. The spousal relationship is granted a similar
privilege.
