Religious Confession Privilege and the Common Law

Religious Confession Privilege and the Common Law......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Table of Cases in Alphabetical Order......Page 12
Chronological Table of Statutes......Page 22
Preface to the Book......Page 26
Introduction......Page 30
Introduction......Page 42
The Error in R v Sparkes......Page 43
The Error in R v Gilham......Page 47
The Error in Wheeler v LeMarchant......Page 50
Conclusion......Page 57
Introduction......Page 58
Church and State......Page 60
The Common Law......Page 65
Pre-Reformation Statutes and Common Law......Page 68
Coke’s Commentary on the Statute Articuli Cleri......Page 72
“Benefit of Clergy” and Church Jurisdictional Claims......Page 73
Did Treason Become an Exception to Other Church Privileges?......Page 77
Religious Confession Privilege in Garnet’s Case......Page 83
Garnet’s Case......Page 84
Conclusion......Page 87
Origins of Confession......Page 88
Origins of the Seal......Page 92
England’s Catholic History Before the Norman Conquest......Page 95
England’s Catholic History After the Norman Conquest......Page 97
Clerical Service in the Royal Courts......Page 99
Effect of the English Reformation on Pre-Existing Catholic Canon Law......Page 101
The Seal of Confession in Anglican Canon Law......Page 106
Effect of New Conditional Seal Wording......Page 107
Non-Compulsory Protestant Confession......Page 108
What Authority Does Canon Law Have in Post-Reformation Secular Courts?......Page 110
Historical Debate About Secular Legal Respect for Canon Law......Page 114
Conclusion......Page 116
Introduction......Page 118
Religious Confession Privilege Existed Before There Was a Discrete Law of Evidence......Page 119
The Practical Purpose of Early Evidence Texts as Handbooks for Barristers......Page 122
Categories in Evidence Law Texts......Page 123
Religious Confession Privilege in Cases About Legal Professional Privilege......Page 126
Legal Professional Privilege Cases that Contain an Obiter Statement Against the Existence of Religious Confession Privilege......Page 127
Legal Professional Privilege Cases that Contain Obiter Statements that Doubt Denials of Religious Confession Privilege......Page 130
Legal Professional Privilege Cases that Are Cited in Evidence Texts About Religious Confession Privilege But Which Do Not Even Mention Religious Confession Privilege......Page 132
Irregular Confessions......Page 135
Were There Any Clear Cases?......Page 143
Extra-Judicial Commentary on R v Constance Kent......Page 145
Conclusion......Page 149
Introduction......Page 152
Elementary Religious Communications Privilege in Cases Already Discussed......Page 153
Religious Communications Privilege Dicta in Twentieth Century Cases......Page 158
D v National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children......Page 161
Religious Communications Privilege in Twentieth Century Canadian Cases......Page 171
R v Gruenke......Page 173
Religious Communications Privilege in Twentieth Century Irish Cases......Page 178
Discretion in Commentary......Page 181
Conclusion......Page 183
Religious Confession Privilege Extinguished by the Reformation or the Restoration?......Page 184
Did Anti-Catholic Prejudice Extinguish Religious Confession Privilege?......Page 189
Does the Advent of Statutory Religious Confession Privilege Prove That It Had Been Extinguished at Common Law?......Page 193
Does the ‘Non-Establishment’ of a State Church Extinguish Common Law Religious Confession Privilege?......Page 196
The Dicta of Sir George Jessel MR......Page 203
Conclusion......Page 208
Introduction......Page 210
McGuinness v Attorney-General (Vic)......Page 212
Baker v Campbell......Page 214
R v Young......Page 216
Daniels Corporation v ACCC......Page 220
International Human Rights in the High Court of Australia......Page 224
Privilege and Immunity......Page 227
Privilege/Immunity in a Criminal Setting......Page 233
Gravitational Pull of Religious Confession Privilege Statutes in Australian Common Law Jurisdictions......Page 236
Consequences of a Recognition of Religious Confession Privilege at Common Law......Page 239
Residual Common Law Jurisdictions......Page 241
Conclusion......Page 242
Introduction......Page 246
The Human Rights Act 1998......Page 247
Religious Freedom Under the Convention......Page 252
Ecclesiastical Discipline......Page 253
Confessional Integrity Relies on Confidentiality......Page 254
Article 9(2) Limitations......Page 255
HRA Section 3......Page 258
Strasbourg Jurisprudence......Page 264
The Arrowsmith Test......Page 267
Analogy from Head Scarf Cases?......Page 269
Can the Absence of Legal Rules Justify the Abrogation of Freedom of Religion?......Page 271
Guidance from Other Commentary......Page 273
Religious Confession Privilege in England?......Page 278
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales......Page 279
Ireland......Page 280
Conclusion......Page 281
The People v Phillips and the Common Law......Page 282
The Decision......Page 283
The Reasoning – Analogy to Self-Incrimination Privilege......Page 284
Religious Confession Privilege in English Common Law......Page 287
Constitutional Protection of Free Exercise of Religion......Page 288
The First Religious Confession Privilege Statute......Page 290
Religious Confession Privilege in Federal Common Law......Page 292
The Spread of Religious Confession Privilege Statutes......Page 295
From Generous Protection of Free Exercise Toward Neutrality......Page 298
What Influence Religious Neutrality?......Page 301
Have Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting Laws Eroded Religious Confession Privilege?......Page 306
Conclusion......Page 310
Introduction......Page 312
The Quebec Code......Page 313
Newfoundland – First Religious Confession Privilege Statute in the British Commonwealth......Page 316
Common Law Religious Confession Privilege in Canada......Page 317
New Zealand......Page 321
Conclusion......Page 329
Introduction......Page 330
The Law Before 1996......Page 331
The Law After 1996......Page 338
Conclusion......Page 343
Introduction......Page 344
Rationales for Religious Confession and Religious Communications Privilege......Page 345
Society’s Interest in Religious Communications......Page 352
Freedom of Religion......Page 356
Privacy Interests......Page 363
The Futility Rationale......Page 369
The Legitimacy Rationale......Page 371
Should Confessions Be Compelled at All?......Page 376
Theological Justification......Page 379
Conclusion......Page 383
Evidence Texts......Page 386
History......Page 391
Canon Law......Page 392
Common Law......Page 393
Confidential Religious Communications Privilege......Page 395
Religious Confession Privilege in Australia......Page 397
Religious Confession Privilege in the United States......Page 401
Religious Confession Privilege in Canada and New Zealand......Page 402
Policy......Page 404
Extinction Theories......Page 405
Final Conclusion......Page 407
Bibliography......Page 408
Index......Page 418