Justice Price
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DEFENDANT moved to suppress 18,064 counterfeit cigarette tax stamps, arguing they were seized without probable cause and after arresting officers unlawfully entered his home. He also claimed his marital privilege right was abrogated. The court found such allegation meritless. It stated the statutory marital privilege protects communication that would not have been made but for the absolute confidence in, and induced by, the marital relationship as distinguished from the daily and ordinary exchanges between spouses. The court noted this privilege must be clearly distinguished from situations where the source of the spouse’s knowledge was her own observations of a partner’s acts or conduct. It stated here, whether the disclosure of the counterfeit stamps by defendant’s wife was subject to the marital privilege depended on whether it was offered outside of trial, finding clearly it was. Thus, such disclosure was universally considered inapplicable to the marital privilege of confidential communication. Also, as the state Court of Appeals has held that the marital privilege does not preclude police from acting, as it was their duty to act, on the wife’s information and the house search consented to by her. Hence, suppression was denied.
