211489P.pdf   07/05/2022  United States  v.  Donavan White Owl
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  21-1489
   U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota - Western   
   [PUBLISHED] [Colloton, Author, with Loken and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] 
   Criminal case - Criminal law. The district court granted defendant's 
   motion in limine to prevent the government from introducing incriminating 
   statements defendant made to his wife in private after the fire which is 
   the subject of the arson and felony murder charges in this case, and the 
   government appeals. The district court erred in granting the motion 
   because the statements qualified for admission under the 
   third-person/spousal exception to the marital communications privilege, 
   which applies where a spouse is charged with a crime against a 
   third-person committed in the course of committing a crime against the 
   spouse; the record showed defendant committed the arson and felony murder 
   against the two third-part victims believing his spouse was in the house 
   with them in an attempt to kill her.