The decision, delivered on April 7, will guide New Jersey 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 criminal defense attorney of 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.”
