A Military court ruled that a confession made by a soldier to his pastor was protected by the clergy-penitent privilege despite the presence of the soldier's wife during some of the counseling.
A Texas court ruled that the clergy-penitent privilege did not prevent a minister from testifying against a church member in a child molestation prosecution.
An Arizona court ruled that a woman's confession of a crime, communicated to a volunteer music minister at her church in an email, was not protected by the clergy-penitent privilege.
A Washington court ruled that a confession made to a group of ministers was protected by the clergy-penitent privilege and therefore could not be disclosed to a civil court.
An Illinois court ruled that a church had to turn over records it generated during an internal investigation into sexual misconduct charges made against a minister.