Witnesses - Relationship To A Party

Generally a witness is not disqualified merely because he is related to one of the parties by blood or marriage. Such a relationship only affects the credibility, not the competency, of the witness.

At COMMON LAW, husbands and wives were considered to be incompetent as witnesses for or against each other in civil or criminal proceedings. This consideration was based on the legal presumption that the testifying spouse was too strongly interested in the outcome of the proceedings to testify truthfully. Most states have modified the common law rule so that either spouse can testify for or against the other in civil cases. In criminal cases, one spouse can ordinarily offer testimony in favor of the other. A spouse can voluntarily testify against the other in federal prosecutions. In addition, a spouse who is a victim of the other spouse's criminal act may testify.