## Facts

- Donna Singleton was charged with making false statements on loan applications to a federally insured credit union, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014.
- Donna and Cedric Singleton had a turbulent marriage and, by 1997, had been living apart for months.
- In September 1997, Donna filed for divorce from Cedric.
- In January 1998—after the divorce filing and after the couple had been separated for an extended period, but before the divorce became final—Cedric cooperated with federal investigators and wore a wire to record a conversation with Donna.
- During the recorded conversation, Donna made incriminating statements relating to a false loan application.
- The divorce was finalized in May 1998.
- At Donna’s criminal trial, the government introduced the recording and related testimony. Donna objected, arguing the marital communications privilege barred admission of her statements to Cedric.
- Donna was convicted, and she appealed the evidentiary ruling admitting the recorded conversation.

## Issues

1. Whether the marital communications privilege barred admission of a recorded conversation between spouses when the conversation occurred after a long separation and after a divorce petition was filed, but before the divorce decree became final.

## Decision

- The Eleventh Circuit affirmed.
- The court held the marital communications privilege did not require exclusion of Donna’s recorded statements to Cedric under the circumstances of the couple’s extended separation and pending divorce.

## Legal Principles

- Evidentiary privileges are interpreted narrowly because they withhold relevant evidence from the factfinder.
- The marital communications privilege protects confidential communications made between spouses during a valid marriage.
- A communication is privileged only if it was made with a reasonable expectation of confidentiality arising from the marital relationship.
- When spouses have been separated for a substantial period and are in the midst of divorce proceedings, the basis for treating interspousal statements as confidential may be absent; in that setting, the marital communications privilege may not apply to later communications.

## Conclusion

United States v. Singleton holds that the marital communications privilege did not bar admission of a wire-recorded conversation between Donna Singleton and her estranged husband when they had been living separately for an extended time and a divorce action was already underway, even though the divorce was not yet final; the Eleventh Circuit therefore upheld the district court’s admission of the recording and affirmed the conviction.


United States v. Singleton, 260 F.3d 1295 (2001)