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N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:84A-22

Marital privilege - confidential communications

Known as the The Evidence Act

The act spans §§ 2–2 (78 sections).

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Brown v. State (2000)

Most recently applied in LC v. MG & Child Support Enforcement Agency (October 2018)

L.1960, c.52, s.22; amended 1992, c.142, s.2; 2013, c.103, s.17; 2015, c.138, s.2.

How often courts cite this section

20002010201810
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

22. Marital privilege--Confidential communications.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall disclose any communication made in confidence between such person and his or her spouse or civil union partner.

(2) There is no privilege:

(a) if both spouses or partners consent to the disclosure;

(b) if the communication is relevant to an issue in an action between the spouses or partners;

(c) in a criminal action or proceeding in which either spouse or partner consents to the disclosure;

(d) in a criminal action or proceeding coming within section 17 of P.L.1960, c.52 (C.2A:84A-17); or

(e) in a criminal action or proceeding if the communication relates to an ongoing or future crime or fraud in which the spouses or partners were or are joint participants at the time of the communication.

(3) When a spouse or partner is incapacitated or deceased, consent to the disclosure may be given for such spouse or partner by the guardian, executor, or administrator. The requirement for consent shall not terminate with divorce, dissolution of civil union or separation. A communication between spouses or partners while living separate and apart under a divorce from bed and board or legal separation from a partner in a civil union shall not be a privileged communication.

Current official text: New Jersey Legislature. Digitized from the New Jersey Legislature bulk statutes download. Reproduced from public-domain New Jersey statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.