Most courts and legislatures have interpreted the terms clergy, minister, and pastor broadly, and have disregarded any distinctions among them.

Within the Catholic Church, an ecclesiastical judge (Latin: judex, or judex ecclesiasticus) is an ecclesiastical person who possesses ecclesiastical jurisdiction either in general or in the strict sense. The judge presides over all baptized persons within their jurisdiction.

From the beginning of the Christian religion, the ecclesiastical judge, i.e. the bishop, decided matters of dispute that were purely religious in character (causae mere ecclesiasticae).

Ecclesiastical courts in the American Episcopal Church have jurisdiction only over disciplinary cases involving clergy and are divided into two separate systems: one for trials of bishops (at the level of the national Episcopal Church) and the other for trials of priests and deacons (at the level of the diocese for original jurisdiction and at ...

Privilegium Fori.—This secures the clergy a special tribunal in civil and criminal causes before an ecclesiastical judge. The civil causes of clerics pertain by nature to the secular courts as much as those of the laity.

5 days ago · Also on this week's docket: Memphis police open applications for clergy academy, Shelby County opens applications for judicial seat.

Apr 10, 2021 · County judges enjoy helping people through the legal process. They handle large dockets of recurring but less complicated cases. As a county judge, I often worked on over 100 case files per day....

Both the defendant and the clergy person can claim the privilege. Despite the privilege, the statute may permit the trial judge to compel disclosure of such confession if the trial court judge decides that disclosure is necessary to properly administer justice.

Nov 20, 2023 · On Friday, Arizona Judge Timothy Dickerson answered no. Dickerson’s end-of-week ruling dismissed a high-profile child sexual abuse lawsuit against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the basis of the state’s clergy-penitent privilege.

Each consistory court is presided over by a judge known as the ‘chancellor’ who is appointed by the diocesan Bishop, having been approved by the Lord Chancellor. Most chancellors also appoint deputies to assist them in their work either generally or on specific cases.