Religious Confession Privilege and the Common Law -- Copyright -- Contents -- Table of Cases in Alphabetical Order -- Chronological Table of Statutes -- Preface to the Book -- Introduction -- Chapter One: Review of Religious Confession Privilege in Early Evidence Texts -- Introduction -- The Error in R v Sparkes -- The Error in R v Gilham -- The Error in Wheeler v LeMarchant -- Conclusion -- Chapter Two: Religious Confession Privilege in Historical Context -- Introduction -- The Problem with Modern Perspective -- Church and State -- The Common Law -- Pre-Reformation Statutes and Common Law -- Coke's Commentary on the Statute Articuli Cleri -- "Benefit of Clergy" and Church Jurisdictional Claims -- A Treason Exception to "Benefit of Clergy"? -- Did Treason Become an Exception to Other Church Privileges? -- Religious Confession Privilege in Garnet's Case -- Garnet's Case -- Conclusion -- Chapter Three: Religious Confession and Privilege in Canon Law -- Introduction -- Origins of Confession -- Origins of the Seal -- England's Catholic History Before the Norman Conquest -- England's Catholic History After the Norman Conquest -- Clerical Service in the Royal Courts -- Effect of the English Reformation on Pre-Existing Catholic Canon Law -- The Seal of Confession in Anglican Canon Law -- Effect of New Conditional Seal Wording -- Non-Compulsory Protestant Confession -- What Authority Does Canon Law Have in Post-Reformation Secular Courts? -- Historical Debate About Secular Legal Respect for Canon Law -- Conclusion -- Chapter Four: Religious Confession Privilege at Common Law From the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Century -- Introduction -- Religious Confession Privilege Existed Before There Was a Discrete Law of Evidence -- The Practical Purpose of Early Evidence Texts as Handbooks for Barristers -- Categories in Evidence Law Texts.

Religious Confession Privilege in Cases About Legal Professional Privilege -- Legal Professional Privilege Cases that Contain an Obiter Statement Against the Existence of Religious Confession Privilege -- Legal Professional Privilege Cases that Contain Obiter Statements that Doubt Denials of Religious Confession Privilege -- Legal Professional Privilege Cases that Are Cited in Evidence Texts About Religious Confession Privilege But Which Do Not Even Mention Religious Confession Privilege -- Irregular Confessions -- Were There Any Clear Cases? -- Extra-Judicial Commentary on R v Constance Kent -- Conclusion -- Chapter Five: Religious Communications Privilege at Common Law -- Introduction -- Elementary Religious Communications Privilege in Cases Already Discussed -- Religious Communications Privilege Dicta in Twentieth Century Cases -- D v National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children -- Religious Communications Privilege in Twentieth Century Canadian Cases -- R v Gruenke -- Religious Communications Privilege in Twentieth Century Irish Cases -- Discretion in Commentary -- Conclusion -- Chapter Six: Theories About the Extinction of Religious Confession Privilege -- Introduction -- Religious Confession Privilege Extinguished by the Reformation or the Restoration? -- Did Anti-Catholic Prejudice Extinguish Religious Confession Privilege? -- Does the Advent of Statutory Religious Confession Privilege Prove That It Had Been Extinguished at Common Law? -- Does the 'Non-Establishment' of a State Church Extinguish Common Law Religious Confession Privilege? -- The Dicta of Sir George Jessel MR -- Conclusion -- Chapter Seven: Religious Confession Privilege at Common Law in Australia -- Introduction -- McGuinness v Attorney-General (Vic) -- Baker v Campbell -- R v Young -- Daniels Corporation v ACCC.

International Human Rights in the High Court of Australia -- Privilege and Immunity -- Privilege/Immunity in a Criminal Setting -- Gravitational Pull of Religious Confession Privilege Statutes in Australian Common Law Jurisdictions -- Consequences of a Recognition of Religious Confession Privilege at Common Law -- Residual Common Law Jurisdictions -- Conclusion -- Chapter Eight: Religious Confession Privilege at Common Law in the United Kingdom and Ireland -- Introduction -- The Human Rights Act 1998 -- Religious Freedom Under the Convention -- Ecclesiastical Discipline -- Confessional Integrity Relies on Confidentiality -- The Clergy as Proxies - is God Entitled to an Evidentiary Privilege? -- Article 9(2) Limitations -- HRA Section 3 -- Strasbourg Jurisprudence -- The Arrowsmith Test -- Analogy from a Proselytism Case? -- Analogy from Head Scarf Cases? -- Can the Absence of Legal Rules Justify the Abrogation of Freedom of Religion? -- Guidance from Other Commentary -- Religious Confession Privilege in England? -- Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales -- Ireland -- Conclusion -- Chapter Nine: Religious Confession Privilege in the United States -- Introduction -- The People v Phillips and the Common Law -- The Facts -- The Decision -- The Reasoning - Analogy to Self-Incrimination Privilege -- Religious Confession Privilege in English Common Law -- Constitutional Protection of Free Exercise of Religion -- The First Religious Confession Privilege Statute -- Religious Confession Privilege in Federal Common Law -- The Spread of Religious Confession Privilege Statutes -- From Generous Protection of Free Exercise Toward Neutrality -- What Influence Religious Neutrality? -- Have Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting Laws Eroded Religious Confession Privilege? -- Conclusion -- Chapter Ten Religious Confession Privilege in Canada and New Zealand -- Introduction.

Canada -- The Quebec Code -- Newfoundland - First Religious Confession Privilege Statute in the British Commonwealth -- Common Law Religious Confession Privilege in Canada -- New Zealand -- Conclusion -- Chapter Eleven Religious Confession Privilege in South Africa -- Introduction -- The Law Before 1996 -- The Law After 1996 -- Conclusion -- Chapter Twelve Policy - Should There Be a Religious Confession Privilege? -- Introduction -- Rationales for Religious Confession and Religious Communications Privilege -- Society's Interest in Religious Communications -- Freedom of Religion -- Privacy Interests -- The Futility Rationale -- The Legitimacy Rationale -- Should Confessions Be Compelled at All? -- Theological Justification -- Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Evidence Texts -- History -- Canon Law -- Common Law -- Confidential Religious Communications Privilege -- Religious Confession Privilege in Australia -- Religious Confession Privilege in the United Kingdom -- Religious Confession Privilege in the United States -- Religious Confession Privilege in Canada and New Zealand -- Religious Confession Privilege in South Africa -- Policy -- Extinction Theories -- Final Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.