US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

      Sec. 54-84a. Privilege of spouse. If any person on trial for crime has a husband or wife, he or she shall be a competent witness but may elect or refuse to testify for or against the accused, except that either spouse who has received personal violence from the other or is the spouse of one who is charged with violation of any of sections 53-20, 53-21, 53-23, 53-304, 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71 and 53a-83 to 53a-88, inclusive, may, upon his or her trial for offenses arising out of such personal violence or from violation of the provisions of any of said sections, be compelled to testify in the same manner as any other witness.

      (P.A. 80-313, S. 45.)

      Note: This section was formerly part of Sec. 54-84. See Sec. 54-84 History re P.A. 80-313.

      History: (Revisor's note: In 1993 obsolete reference to repealed Sec. 53-25 was deleted editorially by the Revisors).

      Cited. 199 C. 631, 648. Cited. 211 C. 555, 561. Section codifies adverse spousal testimony privilege, as distinguished from marital communications privilege, and the privilege belongs to the witness spouse and is meant to protect against impact of the testimony on the marriage. 267 C. 710.