The Case of Trammel V

The case of Trammel v. United States, noted in the text, involved a husband who had been indicted on federal drug charges while his wife had been named in the indictment as an unindicted conspirator and had been persuaded to assist in the prosecution of her husband. According to the Supreme Court of the United States, the trial court:

A) improperly permitted Mrs. Trammel to offer evidence against her husband because it violated the marital testimonial privilege because they were still married to each other at the time of the trial.
B) properly allowed Mrs. Trammel to testify against her husband concerning non-confidential conversations the couple had between them and concerning other conversations where third parties were present because the Court held that only the witness-spouse has a privilege not to testify against the other.
C) properly allowed Mrs. Trammel's testimony against her husband because, as one partner in the marriage, she may waive any marital privilege if she so choses.
D) properly allowed Mrs. Trammel to give adverse testimony against her husband because the prosecution had a high level of need for the evidence, which exceeded Mr. Trammel's need to keep the evidence from admission.