Md. Judge Rules Same-Sex Spouse Has Privilege
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- A Maryland judge has ruled that a woman who married her lesbian partner in Washington, D.C. can invoke her right not to testify against her in a domestic assault case.
Washington County Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley on Thursday acquitted 50-year-old Deborah Snowden of Williamsport of assault.
Deborah Snowden and 38-year-old Sharron Snowden married in Washington, where same-sex marriages are legal, in August 2010.
Deborah Snowden was charged in December 2010 with assault after allegedly threatening Sharron Snowden with a knife.
The trial began in April, but Sharron Snowden invoked her spousal privilege not to testify.
Beachley ruled that Maryland generally recognizes a marriage as valid as long as it was valid in the jurisdiction in which it took place. Maryland does not allow same-sex couples to marry.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
