Can a statement made by the wife of a defendant to a third party, providing inculpatory evidence, be admitted under Rule 804(b)(5)?

Two recent cases consider whether a statement made by the spouse of a defendant to a third party, providing inculpatory evidence, can be admitted under Rule 804(b)(5) when the spouse is unavailable to testify because the spouse has invoked the spousal or marital privilege. United States v. Chapman, 866 F.2d 1326, 1330 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 932 (1989); United States v. Marchini, 797 F.2d 759 (9th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1085 (1987). In Chapman, the 11th Circuit considered whether a statement made by the defendant's wife to authorities that indicated her husband had robbed a bank, could be admitted under Rule 804(b)(5) through the testimony of the officer who heard the statement. The Chapman court considered a variety of factors to determine the statement's trustworthiness, including whether the truth of the statement's assertion was corroborated by other evidence. Chapman, 866 F.2d at 1330.