Confessing crimes to clergy protected from court trials

Ruling in the case of a man who spoke with a pastor about allegations he sexually abused his daughters, the New Jersey Supreme Court said conversations with clergy are protected from disclosure if an “objectively reasonable penitent” would believe the discussions were privileged.

The decision, delivered April 7, will guide judges on how to apply the cleric-penitent privilege.

“It is the first case that sets forth a specific set of rules for the lower courts to determine whether communications between a defendant and a clergyman are admissible at trial,” said Alan Zegas, a prominent criminal defense attorney with offices in Chatham, N.J.

The court said the discussions must remain private “when, under the totality of the circumstances, an objectively reasonable penitent would believe that a communication was secret, that is, made in confidence to a cleric in the cleric’s professional character or role as a spiritual advisor.”