Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 26. EVIDENCE · CHAPTER 1. STATUTORY PROVISIONS ON EVIDENCE · Part 8. Privileges
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 26-1-804 (2026)

Confessions Made To Member Of Clergy

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 26
  3. CHAPTER 1
  4. Part 8
  5. 26-1-804 Confessions made to member of clergy

TITLE 26. EVIDENCE

CHAPTER 1. STATUTORY PROVISIONS ON EVIDENCE

Part 8. Privileges

Confessions Made To Member Of Clergy

26-1-804. Confessions made to member of clergy. A member of the clergy or priest may not, without the consent of the person making the confession, be examined as to any confession made to the individual in the individual's professional character in the course of discipline enjoined by the church to which the individual belongs.

History: En. Secs. 373-377, pp. 210, 211, L. 1867; re-en. Secs. 447-451, p. 125, Cod. Stat. 1871; en. Secs. 629, 630, pp. 203, 204, L. 1877; re-en. Secs. 629, 630, 1st Div. Rev. Stat. 1879; re-en. Secs. 650, 651, 1st Div. Comp. Stat. 1887; re-en. Sec. 3163, C. Civ. Proc. 1895; re-en. Sec. 7892, Rev. C. 1907; re-en. Sec. 10536, R.C.M. 1921; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 83, L. 1925; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 130, L. 1931; re-en. Sec. 10536, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 61, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 318, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 15, Ch. 543, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 225, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 93-701-4(3); amd. Sec. 532, Ch. 56, L. 2009.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1990–2023 · leading case: State v. MacKinnon, 1998 MT 78 (Mont. 1998).
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State v. MacKinnon, 1998 MT 78 (Mont. 1998). · cites it 34× “On October 13, 1995, prior to jury selection, the District Court heard testimony and argument concerning the admissibility of the July and August statements under Montana's clergy-penitent privilege, § 26-1-804, MCA. ¶ 18 Specifically, the District Court heard testimony…”
State v. Gooding, 1999 MT 249 (Mont. 1999). · cites it 20× “Gooding filed a motion in limine the following day requesting the court to exclude from trial the deposition testimony of both Tina and Gerald Glover because statements made to them by Gooding were privileged under § 26-1-804, MCA, the “clergy-penitent privilege.”
In Re Grand Jury Investigation. Appeal of United States of Am., 918 F.2d 374 (3rd Cir. 1990). “060 (1989); Mont.Code Ann. § 26-1-804 (1989); Neb.Rev.”
State v. Martin, 975 P.2d 1020 (Wash. 1999). “[67] See Mont.Code Ann. § 26-1-804; Utah CodeAnn. § 78-24-8(3); W.”
State v. Martin, 975 P.2d 1020 (Wash. 1999). “See Mont. Code Ann. § 26-1-804 ; Utah Code Ann.”
Caekaert v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc'y of New York, Inc. (D. Mont. 2021). · cites it 8× “Application of Clergy-Penitent Privilege Noted above, Montana Code Annotated § 26-1-804 states, “[a] member of the clergy or priest may not, without the consent of the person making the confession, be examined as to any confession made to the individual in the individual’s…”
Rowland v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc'y of New York, Inc. (D. Mont. 2021). · cites it 8× “” The Montana Supreme Court has adopted a broad -12- interpretation of the statute “in order to minimize the risk that § 26-1-804, MCA, might be discriminatorily applied because of differing judicial perceptions of a given church’s practices or religious doctrine, and in order…”
Marriage of Wall, 2016 MT 74N (Mont. 2016). · cites it 7× “Section 26-1-804, MCA, provides that a member of the clergy or priest may not, without consent of the person confessing, be examined as to any confession made to them.”
Caekaert v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc'y of New York, Inc. (D. Mont. 2023). · cites it 2× “WTNY opposes the motion and argues that it correctly asserted the clergy-penitent privilege set forth in Montana Code Annotated §26-1-804. The Court has reviewed the four documents at issue in camera and denies Plaintiffs’ motion for the following reasons.”
Caekaert v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc'y of New York, Inc. (D. Mont. 2023). “Montana Code Annotated § 26-1-804 provides that “[a] member of the clergy or priest may not, without the consent of the person making the confession, be examined as to any confession made to the individual in the individual’s professional character in the course of discipline…”
Rowland v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc'y of New York, Inc. (D. Mont. 2023). “Montana Code Annotated § 26-1-804 provides that “[a] member of the clergy or priest may not, without the consent of the person making the confession, be examined as to any confession made to the individual in the individual’s professional character in the course of discipline…”
Caekaert v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc'y of New York, Inc. (D. Mont. 2023). “Montana Code Annotated § 26-1-804 provides that “[a] member of the clergy or priest may not, without the consent of the person making the confession, be examined as to any confession made to the individual in the individual’s professional character in the course of discipline…”
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.