Domestic Diversions

Don’t ask, don’t tell?

Findlaw/AP highlights the plight of another pair of parents (this time, in Tampa, Florida) who discovered that most states do not have a parent-child privilege.

Vickie Chachere writes (excerpt):
The parents of a teacher implicated in a fatal hit-and-run accident will cooperate with prosecutors rather than go to jail.

James and Lillian Porter had refused to answer questions from the Hillsborough County prosecutor about the involvement of their 28-year-old daughter, Jennifer Porter, in an accident last month that killed two brothers as they walked home from a park.

The Porters, of Land O’ Lakes, changed their minds after Circuit Judge Walter Heinrich threatened them with jail time. They informed Heinrich of their decision Tuesday.

Most states, including Florida, can compel parents to testify against their children, even if they are juveniles.

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