Criminal Trials, Hearings please help i dont want to testify against my boyfriend!!!

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supersad

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I need help my boyfriend is on trial for a very serious crime and because he told me somethings in confidence and the police scared me into telling them by saying if I didn't cooperate they would go after me I told them what I knew. Since then I have talked to some people and was informed that I did not have to give a statement because my boyfriend and I acted as husband and wife and we are in the process of getting married so do I still have to testify and since I'm already Subpoena'd can I show up and then ask the judge for a lawyer so that I know what my rights are? His trial is in 2 months so I really need advice soon.
 
You have to testify even if you get married now; the marital privilege does not apply to stuff that happened when you were not married.
 
In Massachusetts, the common law rule of; interspousal immunity was abolished in LEWIS v. LEWIS, 370 Mass. 619, 629?630, 351 N.E.2d 526 (1976). This case could be applied in your state as well.
 
Well that's the thing I'm in texas and they do recognize common law but I don't know how to prove that we were in our eyes already married. We lived together but did not purchase anything big together. Everyone considered us married his fam my fam his friends etc I just need to prove to the judge that we were already married. I have a credit card that he was an authorized sighner on our cell phone plan that we shared and some email messages that I sentto his brother ending my conversation in you are my favorite brother in law. Do you think any of this will help?
 
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If Texas has "common law" marriage, maybe.

I would say seniorjudge is correct on this matter. What does your "husbands" lawyer say?
 
Well his lawyer doesn't seem to care one way or another were in the process of trying to get another one. Should I seek legal counsel.
 
YOu probably should. I'm sure you will have to testify, but, you would be far better off calling a lawyer in your state.

Most have "first consultation is free", so you may not even have to pay.
 
Well that's the thing I'm in texas and they do recognize common law but I don't know how to prove that we were in our eyes already married. We lived together but did not purchase anything big together. Everyone considered us married his fam my fam his friends etc I just need to prove to the judge that we were already married. I have a credit card that he was an authorized sighner on our cell phone plan that we shared and some email messages that I sentto his brother ending my conversation in you are my favorite brother in law. Do you think any of this will help?

You need to get your stories straight. You never mentioned anything about a common law marriage in your first post:

I need help my boyfriend is on trial for a very serious crime and because he told me somethings in confidence and the police scared me into telling them by saying if I didn't cooperate they would go after me I told them what I knew. Since then I have talked to some people and was informed that I did not have to give a statement because my boyfriend and I acted as husband and wife and we are in the process of getting married so do I still have to testify and since I'm already Subpoena'd can I show up and then ask the judge for a lawyer so that I know what my rights are? His trial is in 2 months so I really need advice soon.

Q: What makes a common law marriage?

* A: Three elements must be present to form a common law marriage in Texas.

First, you must have "agreed to be married."
Second, you must have "held yourselves out" as husband and wife. You must have represented to others that you were married to each other. As an example of this, you may have introduced you partner socially as "my husband," or you may have filed a joint income tax return.
Third, you must have lived together in this state as husband and wife.

from

http://www.co.travis.tx.us/dro/common_law.asp
 
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