律宏长镜头 | 美国法下的“亲属相隐”制度

在我国，汉有“亲亲得相首匿”；唐有 “同居相为隐”；明有“妻妾告夫及夫之祖父母者，杖一百徒三年”。现行刑诉法也规定夫妻、父子之间可以不当庭指控对方的犯罪行为。这些制度旨在维护家庭稳定。那大洋彼岸的美国是如何处理这个问题的呢？

Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, there are two distinct spousal privileges: the testimony privilege and the privilege for confidential material communication.

上白话：在美国证据法下，夫妻之间有两类特权，一个是不作证的权利，一个是交流保密的权利。

Testimony Privilege

免证特权

As long as a valid marriage exists at the time of trial, a married person whose spouse is a defendant in a criminal case may not be called as a witness by the prosecution. Moreover, a married person may not be compelled to testify against the legal interest of their spouse in any criminal proceeding, regardless of whether the spouse is the defendant. This applies even if the events at issue took place before the marriage. The purpose of the privilege is to protect the harmony of an existing marriage. However, the privilege belongs only to the witness-spouse who may choose to do so.

上白话：刑事案件环境下（民事案件不适用哦），不论大哥什么时候犯的罪（比如大哥还在把妹的时候就告诉妹他抢劫了银行），只要在开庭的时候那个妹已经是他老婆，妹就可以自行选择是否作为证人指控大哥。所以记住了，大哥要对大嫂好点，这个选择权在大嫂，一旦大嫂开撕你，你基本就凉了。

Privilege for confidential 

marital communication

夫妻交流保密特权

In any civil or criminal case, confidential communications between spouses during a valid marriage are privileged（no third party present, except young children）. Each spouse can refuse to disclose the communication or prevent any other person from doing so. For this privilege to apply, the marital relationship must exist when the communication is made. The rationale for the privilege is to encourage candor between spouses.

上白话：民事或者刑事案件中（适用范围很广），大哥对大嫂说开车的时候撞了人，后来他们离婚了，大嫂已不再是大嫂了，但是大嫂也不能泄密，就算她想，大哥也有权阻止她，只要说这个话的时候他们两个人是夫妻关系就行。

Exceptions

例外：

Neither privilege applies in the following situations:

▪ Communications or acts in furtherance of a future joint crime or fraud;

▪ In legal actions between the spouses; or

▪ In case where a spouse is charged with a crime against the testifying spouse or either spouse’s children.

上白话：这个特权在这些情况下是玩不了的：一是大哥和大嫂聊怎么可以更好的实施共同犯罪或者欺诈；二是大哥和大嫂之间的法律诉讼；三是大哥对大嫂或他们的娃实施犯罪行为的案件。

作者介绍

延彬彬律师

现为上海律宏律师事务所合伙人律师，民革党员。先后被评为民革上海市委三八红旗手、民革普陀区委先进个人，并在第一届上海律师学术大赛中获“代理词评选”优秀奖，持有证券从业资格证、上海市知识产权工作者证等。

执业领域：

不良资产处置，企业法律顾问，各类合同纠纷，劳动人事纠纷，婚姻家庭纠纷的处理，刑事案件以及行政案件的处理，医疗器械行业法律服务等。

执业理念：

每个人都值得拥有自己的私人律师。

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