Pa. Cons. Stat. » 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. (JUDICIARY) / Chapter 59
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5914 (2026)

 Confidential communications between spouses.

✓ current as of May 2026
Coverage note: this corpus holds the consolidated Pa.C.S. titles only. Unconsolidated P.S. statutes (UTPCPL 73 P.S. § 201-1, Liquor Code, wage payment laws) are not included; a miss here does not mean the statute does not exist. Check palegis.us.
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section PA-LEGpalegis.us JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

§ 5914.  Confidential communications between spouses.

Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, in a criminal proceeding neither husband nor wife shall be competent or permitted to testify to confidential communications made by one to the other, unless this privilege is waived upon the trial.

(Apr. 28, 1978, P.L.202, No.53, eff. 60 days)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 32 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1986–2026 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Chiappini, 782 A.2d 490 (Pa. 2001).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Commonwealth v. Chiappini, 782 A.2d 490 (Pa. 2001). · cites it 8× “The Appellant filed a motion in limine arguing that pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 5914 she was not permitted to testify about what the Appellant had said or done that evening.”
Commonwealth v. McBurrows, 779 A.2d 509 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2001). · cites it 10× “The privilege at issue is codified at 42 Pa.C.S. § 5914: § 5914. Confidential communications between spouses Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, in a criminal proceeding neither husband nor wife shall be competent or permitted to testify to confidential…”
Commonwealth v. Spetzer, 813 A.2d 707 (Pa. 2002). · cites it 8× “The issue on appeal is whether the Superior Court erred in granting a new trial on grounds that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object, under the spousal confidential communications privilege set forth in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5914, to the voluntary testimony of appellee's…”
Commonwealth v. Newman, 633 A.2d 1069 (Pa. 1993). · cites it 8× “1993), and the interplay between that section and the provision dealing with confidential communications between spouses, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5914 (Supp.1993). Mary Newman, the Appellant, was subpoenaed to testify at a coroner's inquest/preliminary hearing on November 14, 1989,…”
Commonwealth v. Luster, 71 A.3d 1029 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2013). · cites it 3× “Appellant contends that his wife testified to confidential communications in violation of 42 Pa. C.S. § 5914, which provides that “in a criminal proceeding neither husband nor wife shall be competent or permitted to testify to confidential communications made by one to the…”
Commonwealth v. Mattison, 82 A.3d 386 (Pa. 2013). · cites it 2× “Spousal Confidential Communications Privilege Appellant next contends that the trial court erred in permitting his wife, *394 Jung, to testify regarding privileged marital communications protected under 42 Pa. C.S. § 5914, which rendered his trial unfair.”
Commonwealth v. Hancharik, 633 A.2d 1074 (Pa. 1993). · cites it 4× “The question in this appeal is whether certain testimony of the Appellant's wife was subject to the rule of 42 Pa.C.S. § 5914 governing confidential communications between spouses, and whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to object to its introduction.”
Commonwealth v. Fewell, 654 A.2d 1109 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1995). · cites it 3× “The appellant argued that his communications were confidential and thus protected under the statutory privilege for confidential communication between spouses, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5914. That statute provides: [I]n a criminal proceeding neither husband nor wife shall be competent or…”
Commonwealth v. May, 656 A.2d 1335 (Pa. 1995). · cites it 2× “Appellant contends that Denise DeHaven was barred from testifying under the spousal confidential communications privilege codified at 42 Pa.C.S. § 5914. Section 5914 provides: Confidential communications between spouses.”
Brown v. State, 753 A.2d 84 (Md. 2000). · cites it 3× “" 42 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. § 5914 (West 1982) (emphasis added).”
State v. Christian, 841 A.2d 1158 (Conn. 2004). · cites it 2× “255 (2) (1988); 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5914 (West 2000); R.”
Commonwealth v. Small, 980 A.2d 549 (Pa. 2009). “See 42 Pa.C.S. § 5914. Janice Small, then Small’s wife, testified she was reading the newspaper, and Small walked into the room and said, “That’s the girl we killed.”
Show all 32 citing cases →
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.