Rhode Island General Laws
R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-17-10 (2026)
Defendant’s spouse as witness
✓ current as of July 2026
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The husband or wife of any respondent in a criminal prosecution, offering himself or herself as a witness, shall not be excluded from testifying because he or she is the husband or wife of the respondent.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4
cases, 1977–2014 · leading case: State v. LaPlume, 375 A.2d 938 (R.I. 1977).
State v. LaPlume, 375 A.2d 938 (R.I. 1977). “Burdick was not voluntarily offering herself as a witness within the provisions of §12-17-10 and, thus, was excused from testifying.”
State v. Angell, 405 A.2d 10 (R.I. 1979). “1956 (1969 Reenactment) §12-17-10, was passed by the Legislature 8 years after its civil counterpart.”
United States v. Breton, 740 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2014). “199 (1893), and interpreting R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § 12-17-10). 16 . Because this case involves a crime against the natural child of both spouses, we need not address the scope of this exception as to other children — a question upon which federal and state courts have reached no…”
State v. Freeman, 276 S.E.2d 450 (N.C. 1981). “R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-17-10 (1970). This statute has been interpreted as an alteration of the common law privilege to prevent testimony involving confidential communications; this privilege is now vested in the witness spouse alone.”
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