If my husband got arrested for domestic violence due to witnesses (not by me), do I have to appear in court to testify?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

If my husband got arrested for domestic violence due to witnesses (not by me), do I have to appear in court to testify?

Asked on March 13, 2014 under Criminal Law, Georgia

Answers:

Anne Brady / Law Office of Anne Brady

Answered 10 years ago | Contributor

This is from westgeorgialawyerblog.com:

The Georgia state legislature approved a change to Georgia’s new evidence code dealing with Spousal Privileges that went into effect as of January 1, 2013.
Georgia’s evidence law, which followed that of many states, protected spouses from having to testify against one another in criminal cases.  As of January 1, 2013, Georgia’s new Evidence code went into effect and in doing so the brought about the end of Spousal Privilege as many people have come to know it.  

Once the bill was approved and became part of the new Georgia evidence code it went into effect January 1,
2013.

It should be noted that most of the spousal privilege against testifying is still in place except in circumstances such as where the testifying spouse is the victim or the victim is a child of the marriage.  In these cases, there is absolutely no privilege to assert.  The new law allows prosecutors to compel victims of domestic violence to testify against their abusive spouse.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption