McDermott v. State
McDermott was convicted of sexual battery on his stepdaughter and challenged the admission of inculpatory statements he made to his wife and to a church layman (not yet an ordained minister) under the clergy-communications and husband-wife privileges. The Fifth DCA affirmed, holding neither privilege applied: the listener was not a 'member of the clergy' at the time of the statements, and the spousal privilege statute expressly excepts communications in criminal proceedings where the defendant is charged with a crime against a child of either spouse.
Key facts
- McDermott was charged with sexual battery on his stepdaughter; the trial court admitted inculpatory statements he made to his wife and to a church volunteer who had not yet received ministerial licensure.
- McDermott challenged admission of these statements under the clergy-communications privilege and the husband-wife privilege; the trial court overruled both objections.
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Why it matters
This opinion gives criminal practitioners a clear, citable four-part framework for clergy-privilege claims and confirms that volunteer lay leaders without clerical ordination/licensure do not qualify as 'clergy' under… — full analysis with a trial
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