Trammel v. United States

Background

A man named Otis Trammel was charged with importing and distributing heroin. His wife, Elizabeth Trammel, was arrested carrying heroin, agreed to cooperate with federal agents, and was granted immunity. The wife then testified in detail at a pretrial hearing and at trial, and her testimony formed nearly the Government’s entire case; Otis objected and argued a spousal privilege should bar her testimony.

Reasoning

The Court re-examined the older rule that let a defendant prevent a spouse from testifying against him. After reviewing history, criticism, and changes in state law, the Court concluded that “reason and experience” no longer support giving the accused control over a spouse’s testimony. The Court changed the rule so that only the testifying spouse can choose to refuse or to give adverse testimony. The Court found the wife’s testimony voluntary even though she received immunity, and affirmed the lower courts’ rulings and the conviction.

Real world impact

Moving forward, prosecutors can rely on a spouse’s voluntary courtroom testimony when the spouse chooses to testify, and defendants cannot block that testimony simply by objecting. The separate privilege protecting private marital communications remains intact and was not affected by this decision. This ruling alters who controls testimonial choices between spouses in criminal trials and may make it easier for prosecutors to use spouse witnesses.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Stewart agreed with the outcome but wrote separately, saying he could not join an opinion that treats the change from the prior case as newly justified by experience since he believed the arguments had long existed and were rejected earlier.