A more thorough explanation:

Spousal privilege is a legal concept that protects certain communications and testimony between spouses from being used as evidence in court. There are two types of spousal privilege: spousal communications privilege and spousal testimonial privilege.

The spousal communications privilege applies to both civil and criminal cases. It protects confidential communications made between spouses during a valid marriage. The purpose of this privilege is to ensure that private conversations between spouses remain private and are not exposed to the public. In order to invoke this privilege, the party must prove that:

• The spouses were in a valid marriage at the time of the communication
• The communication was intended to convey information between spouses
• Neither spouse has disclosed the communication to a third party
• The communication was intended to be confidential

For example, if a husband tells his wife about a crime he committed, the wife can invoke spousal communications privilege to prevent the husband's confession from being used as evidence against him in court.

However, spousal communications privilege does not apply if the spouses are suing each other in a civil case or if one spouse initiates a criminal proceeding against the other.

The spousal testimonial privilege precludes one spouse from testifying against the other spouse in criminal or related proceedings. Either spouse can invoke this privilege to prevent the testimony. This privilege does not survive the dissolution of the marital relationship.

For example, if a wife witnesses her husband committing a crime, she can invoke spousal testimonial privilege to prevent her testimony from being used as evidence against him in court.

However, spousal testimonial privilege does not apply if the spouses are suing each other in a civil case or if one spouse initiates a criminal proceeding against the other.