Legal Eaze #42 Wife Testify/ Lemon Car

Title: March 8, 2006

Q. Can my wife testify against me in a criminal case I am involved in?

A. Generally speaking, a marriage person may not be forced to testify against his or her spouse in any proceeding. This privilege will still hold even after the couple gets divorced, though it will only apply to acts and conversations held while they were married. However, there are exceptions, i.e. (1) where one spouse is suing the other (including divorce or child custody hearings); (2) A proceeding where one spouse wishes to have the other committed or take control over property because of the spouse’s alleged mental or physical condition. (3) A criminal proceeding in which one spouse is charged with a crime against another spouse or family member (even if committed before the marriage). (4) Charge of bigamy (5) a civil case brought by one spouse for the immediate benefit of the other spouse and (6) any communications made to enable or aid anyone to plan or commit a crime or fraud.

A I bought a brand new car last September, but I keep having to bring it in for repairs and I am tired of this. In the last seven months, I have had my car to drive for a total of 3.5 months. This is ridiculous. I believe I have a “lemon”. What can I do?

Q. California’s Lemon Law states that if a car manufacturer or an authorized dleaer or representative can’t repair a serious defect of a new vehicle under warranty after a reasonable number of attempts, then the manufacturer must either promptly replace the car or give the buyer back his or her purchase price. Of course, the decision to get a new vehicle or get your money back is up to you. If you choose to get your money back, it will not include the costs of items that were installed by either the dealer or yourself after the car was shipped by the manufacturer. You will be compensated for any incidental costs associated with getting the car fixed, such as towing and car rental fees. You may be charged for your limited use of the car up until the time when you first brought it in to get repaired. Generally, this works out to 1 percent of the vehicle’s purchase price for every 1,200 miles that you drove it.

Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 13 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880.