1. Define the term testimonial privilege.
    
2. Explain why the law of evidence provides for privileges.
    
3. List out the exceptions involved with attorney-client and clergy-penitent privileges.
    
4. Answer the question of whether it is the husband or the wife who is the “holder” of the spousal privilege.
    
5. Describe the purpose of the media privilege and what is covered by the media privilege.
    
6. Explain what the executive privilege and confidential informant privilege are.

SUMMARY: Certain confidential relationships are considered privileged. The holder of the privilege is the individual who may invoke the protection of the privilege and avoid testifying, as well as preventing the other party to the privileged relationship from testifying. The holder of the privilege is not required to be a party to the litigation.

Courts generally recognize the privileges that existed at common law. Other privileges result from legislative enactments. Although Congress expressed an intent to allow privileges to develop to meet the demands of the times, some groups continue to be frustrated by the failure of courts to recognize new privileges.

In this chapter a number of privileges have been discussed.

Attorney-client privilege. A client may prevent a lawyer with whom he or she has a professional relationship from disclosing communications between the two of them stemming from their professional relationship. Neither the client nor the lawyer may be compelled to testify about privileged information absent a waiver from the client.

Clergy-penitent privilege. This privilege protects communications between a penitent and a member of the clergy, made in confidence, during spiritual counseling to a member of the clergy.

Physician-patient privilege. The privilege covers an individual consulting a medical professional for diagnosis or treatment

Psychotherapist-patient privilege. The privilege extends to communication with psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment of mental or emotional problems.

Husband-wife privilege. The marital testimony privilege prohibits the testimony of one spouse against the other spouse. The marital communication privilege prohibits the revealing of confidential communications between spouses during marriage.

Executive privilege. Courts have recognized that the President of the United States has an executive privilege to protect confidential communications. The privilege generally is absolute in regards to military, diplomatic or national security communication. Other types of communications are presumptively privileged and may be overridden by the need for specific information in a criminal trial. Executive privilege extends to the confidential communications of department and agency heads.

State secrets. The government has a privilege to refuse to provide evidence and to prevent any person from giving evidence based on a showing of a reasonable likelihood of a danger that the evidence will disclose a secret of state or official information. The government must demonstrate that the information, if disclosed, may threaten the national security of the United States

Confidential police informant privilege. Law enforcement officers based on either state statutes or case law possess a limited confidential informant privilege to withhold the identities of confidential informants who assist the police in investigating and detecting criminal activities

Grand jury privilege. Individuals serving on a grand jury are required to take an oath obligating them to keep the deliberations secret. Any individual who discloses the proceedings of a grand jury may be criminally punished for contempt of court.

News media privilege. This is a qualified privilege by journalists to withhold the names of confidential sources and information obtained in researching their stories. The privilege is recognized by most states but is not recognized by the federal government.