MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press
By David Ashenfelter
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
Three Michigan Court of Appeals judges appeared likely to apply Michigan’s priest-penitent privilege Thursday in a criminal case involving a Belleville teen who allegedly admitted to his pastor he had sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl.
The judges in their comments seemed to reject arguments by Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Toni Odette that the privilege didn’t apply because the teen’s mother was present when he confessed and, as a result, his admission was not confidential.
Going along with the prosecution, two of the judges said, would create a nightmare for Michigan trial judges who would have to decide on a case-by-case, denomination-by-domination basis whether a pastor’s statements about such admissions could be used to prosecute a church member.
“I wonder if the real test is what the penitent thinks, not what the pastor thinks,” Judge Elizabeth Gleicher said during the hearing.
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