There is a rumor that embattled former senator and presidential contender John Edwards is going to marry his one-time mistress, Rielle Hunter. Edwards is accused of conspiring to violate campaign finance laws by using approximately $1 million from campaign donors to cover up his affair and the child he fathered with Rielle Hunter. If Edwards does marry Hunter, she would not be required to testify against him at the trial if she did not want to, and some theorists believe this is the only reason he wants to marry Ms. Hunter. This is due to the testimonial privilege between spouses. If this matter were a divorce, however, the privilege against spouses testifying against each other would not apply.
The spousal testimonial privilege can be a very powerful bar to testimony. The privilege has two parts. There is a privilege not to testify against one’s spouse and a privilege not to be called as a witness against one’s spouse. A married person has a privilege not to testify against his or her spouse in any proceeding. Additionally, a married person whose spouse is a party to the case has a privilege not to be called as a witness by an adverse party without the prior express consent of the spouse having the privilege.
The spousal testimonial privilege does not apply in divorce cases. Spouses are often at odds regarding the way child custody and visitation should be decided or how assets
should be divided. Anything a spouse says can be used against them in Court when disputing these issues. One spouse admitting to hiding assets in a Swiss bank account, for example, cannot claim a privilege against having his wife testify against him when she wants to be compensated for losing access to the money. People are wise not to say anything around their spouses that could later open the door to an unfavorable court action.
There are multiple ways that a spouse can communicate with their other half – in person, on the phone, email, text messages, etc. During the family law litigation process, all
of these forms of communication and more can be discovered and used as evidence at trial. Either spouse can get on the stand and state word for word what her spouse told her through any form of communication. The other spouse is powerless to keep her quiet.
It is incredibly important to have excellent legal counsel to manage not only the formal process of a divorce, but also the communication between the parties. In the Bay Area, a person is wise to engage the best San Francisco divorce lawyer available to help navigate these dangerous waters.
Erik W. Newton Mr. Newton brings a wealth of diverse experience to the practice of law, having worked in a range of industries including sales, network marketing, telecommunications, corporate litigation and government. 
Terrance C. Heath A graduate of UC Berkeley and Boston College Law School, Terrance Heath established his private practice in 2002. 
Robert S. Kamin Robert grew up in Palo Alto, California. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in history with honors from UC Berkeley, he accepted a graduate fellowship at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. 
Richard J. Nelson Richard is a California native who earned a history degree (summa cum laude) from San Francisco State University, a law degree from Hastings College, and a Masters of Law in Taxation from Golden Gate University. 
Alison Grcevich. Ms. Grcevich holds a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law and a B.A. in Communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara.