Appeal Questions Whether California's Privilege Law Is Discriminatory

Friday's Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise reports that child molestation defendant Gilbert Simental has filed an interlocutory appeal after a Riverside, California state court judge last week ordered two elders of a Jehovah's Witness congregation to testify about admissions that Simental reportedly made. One of the issues in the appeal is whether the California law on clergy privilege discriminates against Jehovah's Witness practices. State law privileges communications to clergy only if they are not made in the presence of any third person. Simental's statements were made to a church judicial committee of three Elders. (See prior related posting.)