Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 13-1-22 (2024)
Confidentiality of priest-penitent communications
✓ Justia copy: laws through about 2024 (2025 and 2026 sessions missing)
- (1) As used in this section:
- (a) A "clergyman" is a minister, priest, rabbi, or other similar functionary of a church, religious organization, or religious denomination.
- (b) A communication is "confidential" if made privately and not intended for further disclosure except in furtherance of the purpose of the communication.
- (2) A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent another from disclosing a confidential communication by the person to a clergyman in his professional character as spiritual adviser.
- (3) The privilege may be claimed by the person, by his guardian or conservator, or by his personal representative if he is deceased. The clergyman shall claim the privilege on behalf of the person unless the privilege is waived.
- (4) A clergyman's secretary, stenographer or clerk shall not be examined without the consent of the clergyman concerning any fact, the knowledge of which was acquired in such capacity.
Laws, 1976, ch. 453, eff. 7/1/1976.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1
case, 1994–1994 · leading case: Simpson v. Tennant, 871 S.W.2d 301 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1994).
Simpson v. Tennant, 871 S.W.2d 301 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1994). ““[T]he emotional, mental, and spiritual health of many of our citizens depends upon the free and confidential access to their clergymen or spiritual advisors_” Miss.Code Ann. § 13-1-22 cmt. (Supp.1993) We believe that the relationship between communicant and clergyman is highly…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.