Commonwealth v. Hinton

OPINION

LAMBERT, J., JUDGE:

The Commonwealth of Kentucky has appealed from the order of the Harlan Circuit Court granting Rex Hinton’s. Kentucky Rules of Evidence (KRE) 504 motion to assert the spousal privilege in his criminal prosecution for Torture of Dog or Cat in violation of Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 525.135. Because we agree with the Commonwealth that the trial court erred as a matter of law in granting Hinton’s motion, we vacate the order on appeal.

In April 2014, Kentucky State Police Trooper Jimmy Halcomb filed a criminal complaint against Hinton, stating that the previous month…