Spousal compellability implies an explicit privilege for those of whom are married, the rule indicates that whereby ‘s80 made a spouse, now also a civil partner, who is not co-accused, compellable for the defendant…with respect to what… are now called “specified offences”.
Governing reasons of the compellability exemption include a ‘…myriad of complex and often logical reasons…’ The repugnance of forcing reluctant spouses to testify against a spouse indicates a ‘…general incompetence of a defendant’s spouse for the prosecution owed much to the “doctrine of unity” …’ of spouses and also perjury. Furthermore, the enactment of the rule is governed by factors relating to fear of domestic violence by the defendant, causing distress and conflict between spouses and pressure to ‘choose between her duty to the court and her duty to preserve the economic, social and emotional integrity of the family unit.’ The statutory provisions of s80 applies only to spouses ultimately the Act does not include unmarried cohabitees, if an extension was permissible it would consequently be ‘difficult to find a logical end and potentially cause grave difficulties in the enforcement of criminal law.’ Circumventing spousal privilege is essential in modern society, as the
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Compellability of spouses has led to much criticism, 'A woman's willingness to testify against her spouse or civil partner is not based on the compellability provisions in PACE, but a personal choice of whether she is prepared to testify against her spouse.' The case Van Der Heijden v The Netherlands exemplifies this issue and provides that ‘…cohabitation does not always attract all the same legal rights, such as testimonial privilege…’ . The case involves a cohabitating couple with two children whereby the appellants partner refused to
Fagan, Jeffrey. (1993). The Social Control of Spouse Assault. In: Adler, Freda and Laufer, William S New Directions in Criminological Theory. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. p187.
The ability to block spousal testimony does not however apply to all couples under the law. Those in common law relationships are not considered to be one and the same and these spouses’s are able to give testimony about events that occurred during the relationship. Ultimately, because the issue falls under common law the question of whether a husband or wife to can be compelled to give evidence against there spouse was at the justices discretion. Most justices are more likely to compel spousal testimony in cases of violence and domestic abuse. The majority of these offences are committed on a one on one basis with either no one to witness the abuse, or a child incapable of being called as a witness. The testimony evidence of the spouse is often the only proof that an offence occurred.
authority of the husband and the law allows him to chastise her moderately” (Gay 177). These ideas are similarly echoed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Throughout the years, this clause has been very controversial. In the 2004 case, Crawford vs. Washington; Michael Crawford and his wife, Sylvia Crawford had approached a man by the name of Kenneth Lee. There had been alleged allegations that Lee had tried to rape Mrs. Crawford. In the midst of the confrontation, Michael Crawford stabbed Lee in his torso. Michael then claimed he only did it acting in self-defense because he thought Lee had just picked up a weapon and was going to attack him first. In the trial for this case, Mrs. Crawford declined to testify against her husband, and was not required to do so under spousal privilege. However, her testimonial statement was later used against her husband because the facts of her statement and the facts in his statements were a little different. Noticeably, whether Lee was armed and made an advance prior to his stabbing came into question. Mr. Crawford was charged with assault and attempted murder. He was found guilty. The court found Crawford guilty based on his wife’s recorded statements, describing the stabbing that took place that the prosecutors played in court. The statement contradicted Michael’s defense that he stabbed Lee in self-defense of his wife. After this incident, the Confrontation Clause was put into effect. It serves two purposes. First, it protects the defendant from statements made outside of a court being used against a person when they have no opportunity to test or challenge the alleged statement, and second the Confrontation Clause gives a defendant the oppor...
Hilton, N Zoe, ed. Legal Responses to Wife Assault: Current Trends and Evaluations. Newbury Park: SAGE Pub. Inc. 1993.
Law is a system of rules that has been set up by the legislative branch of our government. It is a must that every person in that country follow these laws, or severe consequences will be held against that person. In every court house legal systems are held. There are two common types of legal systems used, common law and civil law. Common law is used by countries that are from the British colonies, as this type of system was originated from England, when King Henry II wanted to combine the laws and customs together. Whereas, the countries that use civil law are from the European colonies (Common Law vs Civil Law,2009). Even though, both laws are commonly used, they differ in terms of the constitution, the jury’s opinion, the role of the
" SECTION 1. The property, both real and personal, which any married woman now owns, as her sole and separate property; that which comes to her by descent, devise, bequest, gift or grant; that which she acquires by her trade, business, labor or services, carried on or performed on her sole or separate account; that which a woman married in this State owns at the time of her marriage, and the rents, issues and proceeds of all such property, shall, notwithstanding her marriage, be and remain her sole and separate property, and may be used, collected and invested by her in her own name, and shall not be subject to the interference or control of her husband, or liable for his debts, except such debts as may have been contracted for the support of herself or her children, by her as his agent. The Married Women 's Property Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c.75) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that significantly altered English law regarding the property rights of married women, which besides other matters allow...
Joint custody, when applicable, in which children spend an equal amount of time with both separated parents, causes a positive emotional environment for children of divorce, which further creates healthy family relations and avoids negative health effects.
The Family Law Legislation Amendment Act of 2011 and whether it has Reduced Violence and Abuse for Women and Children
However, many years ago, it was considered a shame or embarrassment among family members when a woman came forward about an assault or abuse. Wives were not allowed to go against their husbands with the accusations of abuse of any kind. The wife could face even more serious repercussions. The notion was that the wife was the husband’s property. He could do as he pleases with his wife and there was nothing that could be done.
In the light of changes to the law over the past forty five years, in Hyde v Hyde Lord Penzance argued that, ‘’a marriage may be defined as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others’’, this has enshrined in the Matrimonial Causes Act . This argument requires a critical discussion in the light of the above case including statutes, case law, changes in society, public opinion, Human right and same sex marriage.
Everyone know that Law is a system of rules which are developed in community with a aim to govern a society maintaining, justice, protect individuals and property. There are a lot of countries and they have own set of rules and norms including itself constitutional, criminal, contract, trust, international, tort, administrative and property. During the long time law improving and developing a lot and become more invulnerable and fair. Therefore, in a modern society and most of countries law has become similar with similar legal system. Nowadays there are several general types of legal system in the world and two main most popular of them, which had mostly spread through the world. They
The chapter with the topic that interested me the most in this Sociology course was the one dealing with marriages. I thought it was interesting to see how marriage can take on so many different meanings depending on what country or culture a person belongs to. To most people, especially here in the US, marriage is usually the union of two adults (usually heterosexual) who are in love with each other. This means that the two individuals get to choose who they want to be their future husband or wife. However, in India, it is not an uncommon practice to marry a person that your parents have approved/chosen for you.
There are so many different types of family relationships. Whatever form a family takes; it is an important part of everyone’s life. My family has played an important role in my life. Good family relationships serve as a foundation to interactions with others. Supportive families will help children to thrive. The quality of the family relationship is more important than the size of the family. Making the relationships priority, communication, and providing support for one another is key to developing relationships. Family relationships are what make up our world today; they shape the ways that we see things and the ways that we do things.
Child marriage is a popular practice in India and Middle Eastern countries. It is defined as “a formal union before the age of eighteen” (unicef). In some cases the husband can be more than twice the age of the young girl. The median age of women at the time of their marriage is starting to increase, although this primarily includes women in higher income families. Seen as taboo in western countries, the practice is common in rural towns in places like India and Yemen. As a result of the marriage many young girls get pregnant, which is a serious health risk due to their underdeveloped bodies. The practice of child marriage takes away a young woman’s right to an education and also poses serious health risks.