MI Court of Appeals Judges to decide: Can religious confessions be used against you?
Judges to decide: Can religious confessions be used against you?
February 8, 2012
By David Ashenfelter
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
Michigan Court of Appeals judges will hear arguments Thursday on a case that could have serious repercussions for church members: Can what you confess to your pastor be used against you in a court of law?
A three-judge panel of the court is being asked to decide whether a Baptist pastor in Belleville violated Michigan's priest-penitent privilege by testifying against a church member in a rape case.
"This is a very dangerous case because it could have very serious repercussions for religion," the rape suspect's lawyer, Raymond Cassar of Farmington Hills, said Tuesday. "If a pastor is allowed to testify against a member of his church about privileged communications, no one will want to confess their sins to their pastors anymore."
Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Teri Odette argued in court documents that the privilege doesn't apply in this case. "The communication was initiated by the pastor -- not by the defendant -- and was done to ascertain whether the victim was telling the truth, not for the purpose of spiritual guidance," she said.
more...
http://www.freep.com/article/20120208/NEWS06/202080394/Judges-to-decide-Can-religious-confessions-be-used-against-you-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
More on the background in another Michigan newspaper in this report:
http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20120205/NEWS01/202050309