Commonwealth v. Hancharik

I agree with the majority that the testimonial privilege announced by the legislature at 42 Pa.C.S. § 5914, providing that a spouse is not competent to testify against his/her wife or husband, is qualified by section 5913 which abolishes the privileges in family matters including situations involving violence or attempted violence against a spouse or children in the care or custody of either of them. To hold otherwise would be to shift the intent of section 5913 and to create an in-road in that section, which was never intended by the legislature.

The thrust of section 5913 must be measured…