In Varner v. Stovall, (6th Cir., Sept. 11, 2007), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise claims raised by Janniss Varner who had been convicted of assault with intent to commit murder after she hired someone to shoot her abusive boyfriend. Varner objected to the trial court's decision to admit into evidence her journal entries that included prayers and acknowledgements that she had tried to kill her boyfriend.
The court rejected Varner's argument that Michigan's clergy-penitent privilege law "improperly favors religions that encourage their members to seek guidance through intermediaries, such as a pastor or priest, over faiths that have no such tradition." It also held that the limitation of the privilege to communications addressed to a spiritual counselor did not restrict Varner's ability to practice her religion. The court held that "Michigan's privilege rules do not discriminate between denominations but distinguish between the methods of communication that the individual--any individual of any faith or no faith--chooses to pursue."
