Alpo Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 Priests have it with their parishioners in the confessional. Lawyers have it with their clients. Doctors have it with their patients. Would it end if the parishioner/client/patient died? If Joe told me that he murdered his brother, and I was his priest or his lawyer or his shrink I couldn't tell anybody. But Joe has died. Been a couple years. Can I tell the cops would Joe told me so they can close that cold murder case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 I bet it ultimately depends on your state. Church and state sounds constitutional and therefore federal, but spousal and with your shyster is probably state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 Follow up question (because I don't know the limits or actual legal requirements of such an event) A teenager, under 15, gets pregnant and tells her pastor at church. Is HE required by law to tell authorities (parents, etc.....). Or is he suppose to keep that a secret. How about if an adult confesses to molesting a child? There may, or may not be, laws that not only protect someone in a confession, but there may also be laws that REQUIRE a priest, lawyer, doctor, etc..... to notify authorities under certain circumstances. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 Generally the law prohibits clergy from being compelled to testify. It does not prohibit them from voluntarily doing so or from giving in formation to law enforcement. The church profits it. Due to the instances of child abuse cases some states are changing their laws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 I knew that the law does not say the priest can't tell. The Vatican says the priests can't tell. This ponder came from Dance Hall of the Dead, the second Joe Leaphorn book by Tony Hillerman. A kid was murdered and Joe is trying to get some information from the priest. Priest tells him that if the kid had said anything it would have been during confession and he couldn't talk about it. Joe says the boy is dead and knowing this might help catch the killer. And the priest said he would think about it. And once I considered a priest breaking confidentiality because the parishioner was dead, I started thinking about doctors and lawyers. I'm certain that the law cannot compel doctors and lawyers to talk about confidences. Somewhere I have picked up the "knowledge"(?) that if a lawyer betrays the confidence he can be disbarred. Or maybe even he WILL BE disbarred. But I don't know if any punishment is made to a doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Kit Cool Gun Garth Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 I can see a criminal rob a convenience store, killing the owner, but not after getting shot by the store owner. Criminal goes to the bad doctor who has anonymously "patched him up" in the past, revealing he killed someone. This time the doctor, fearing involvement in a homicide, goes to "his" sleazy attorney to obtain representation should the police question him about the murder. The attorney has been going to his local church every Sunday and confesses to his priest his sinful ways including his involvement with the doctor. DISCLAIMER: The criminal turns out to be the priest! What now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 1 minute ago, Father Kit Cool Gun Garth said: What now? Well if it was a M. Night Shyamalan movie, this is probably when the aliens show up and the doctor realizes that he was the one that was killed in the hold up.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Brules Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 36 minutes ago, Father Kit Cool Gun Garth said: I can see a criminal rob a convenience store, killing the owner, but not after getting shot by the store owner. Criminal goes to the bad doctor who has anonymously "patched him up" in the past, revealing he killed someone. This time the doctor, fearing involvement in a homicide, goes to "his" sleazy attorney to obtain representation should the police question him about the murder. The attorney has been going to his local church every Sunday and confesses to his priest his sinful ways including his involvement with the doctor. DISCLAIMER: The criminal turns out to be the priest! What now? WHAT NOW? Kill them all, and let God sort them out?? Cat Brules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 The lockdown is really beginning to get to you guys isn’t it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Harley, #14153 Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 16 minutes ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said: The lockdown is really beginning to get to you guys isn’t it? Yup. This is getting “out there” even by Alpo’s standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 The Attorney client privilege is the client' to exercise. After their death, the Attorney cannot violate that privilege, but the court could compel a lawyer to do so if circumstances were appropriate. While it is not an absolute privilege, it is the cornerstone of representation and any lawyer that violates it should be punished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 8 minutes ago, Charlie Harley, #14153 said: Yup. This is getting “out there” even by Alpo’s standards. What gives you the thought that Alpo has standards, parameters or boundaries in his intellectual quests? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finagler 6853 Life Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 A doctor cannot disclose your medical condition or what was done to treat you. If you tell the doc you broke the law, they can report it. Doctors report all kinds of suspicious activities by patients. Gun shot wounds are reported right away. Women and children with suspicious bruises or injuries get reported. I had to take my wife in once after she got smacked upside the head by a horse. If the nurse in the ER didn't know us, I probably would have gotten reported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 Priest: I shouldn’t tell you....Hoo’s the killer Detective: Who? Priest: That’s right, Hoo Detective: Are you going to tell me who? Priest: I just did Detective: Then who’s the dang killer? Priest: Yes Then Lou Costello comes in and beats them both with a baseball bat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Brules Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 In th original example above: DISCLAIMER: The criminal turns out to be the priest! What now? “What now?” nothing. The Priest just remains silent. Cat Brules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Privileges are defined by statute and can vary from state to state. Federally-recognized privileges can differ from those of states. Most privileges are absolute, though there can be exceptions. If, for instance, a client confesses a crime to his lawyer, the privilege is absolute. If the lawyer violates it without waiver by the client, he can indeed be disbarred, and there are many instances where this has happened. At the very least, there will be a suspension from practice for a significant time, depending upon the circumstances. As to a deceased criminal, I don't know the answer, but I bet it's out there somewhere...In that instance, the client cannot suffer harm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 So, going back a few months.... Alpo has committed the perfect crime and gotten rid of the body. Now he is contemplating confessing to his priest and preparing your likely defense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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