Parent-child privilege has little precedent
Dublin Core
Title
Parent-child privilege has little precedent
Subject
Parents should not have to testify against children committed crimes in court.
Description
No state recognize the child/parent privilege when it comes to testifying in court cases. Many argue they should appeal to the Supreme Court.
Creator
Donoghue, Mike
Source
Donoghue, Mike. "parent-child privilege has little precedence." The Burlington Free Press Newspaper, March 29, 1996.
Publisher
HIST 298, University of Mary Washington
Date
1997-03-29
Rights
The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source.
Format
1 jpg
300 DPI
Language
English
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
[title] Parent-child privilege has little precedent
By Mike Donoghue Free Press Staff Witter
Arthur and Geneva Yandow faced an uphill battle when they asserted that as parents they should not be forced to testify against their son, a rape suspect.
No state recognize the privilege, but a Vermont Law School professor said they should hold their ground and appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Professor Michael Mello knows the parent-child issue well. He helped defend a woman who refused to tell a Washington, D.C., court the whereabouts of her daughter. The mother suspected her divorce husband of molesting the child during court order visits. The mother went to jail in August 1987 for two years rather then have her 9-year-old daughter visit her father.
Courts recognize that some people have special rights when it comes to certain communications. They include doctor-patient, priest-confessor, counselor-client, journalist-source, lawyer-client, and husband-wife. Some are based on common law, and others are based on state laws.
There appears to be little support in the courts to extend husband-wife privilege to parent-child, Burlington lawyer Noah Paley said. Paley, who also has an interest in medical-confidentiality issues, noted that in cases involving doctors, counselors or lawyers, the person is seeking a professional service.
Dr. Arnold Golodetz pf the Vermont Ethics Network agreed. He noted that a husband-wife or parent-child privilege is not based on a commercial relationship.
Jane Kirtley of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said journalists have a constitutional protection under the First Amendment.
"Journalism is the one business protected by the Constitution," the Arlington, Va., lawyer said.
By Mike Donoghue Free Press Staff Witter
Arthur and Geneva Yandow faced an uphill battle when they asserted that as parents they should not be forced to testify against their son, a rape suspect.
No state recognize the privilege, but a Vermont Law School professor said they should hold their ground and appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Professor Michael Mello knows the parent-child issue well. He helped defend a woman who refused to tell a Washington, D.C., court the whereabouts of her daughter. The mother suspected her divorce husband of molesting the child during court order visits. The mother went to jail in August 1987 for two years rather then have her 9-year-old daughter visit her father.
Courts recognize that some people have special rights when it comes to certain communications. They include doctor-patient, priest-confessor, counselor-client, journalist-source, lawyer-client, and husband-wife. Some are based on common law, and others are based on state laws.
There appears to be little support in the courts to extend husband-wife privilege to parent-child, Burlington lawyer Noah Paley said. Paley, who also has an interest in medical-confidentiality issues, noted that in cases involving doctors, counselors or lawyers, the person is seeking a professional service.
Dr. Arnold Golodetz pf the Vermont Ethics Network agreed. He noted that a husband-wife or parent-child privilege is not based on a commercial relationship.
Jane Kirtley of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said journalists have a constitutional protection under the First Amendment.
"Journalism is the one business protected by the Constitution," the Arlington, Va., lawyer said.
Original Format
Newspaper
Contributor of the Digital Item
Lee, Tessa
Student Editor of the Digital Item
Williams, Megan
Files
Citation
Donoghue, Mike, “Parent-child privilege has little precedent,” HIST299, accessed July 12, 2026, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/253.