In the case of Wilson v. United States, 1895, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a defendant's spouse could not be compelled to testify against them in court. The decision was based on an interpretation of federal law and common law principles which traditionally protected marital communications from being disclosed in legal proceedings. However, it also established that if a spouse voluntarily chose to testify against their partner, they were allowed to do so under the same statute. This ruling has had significant implications for spousal privilege laws across America and continues to influence judicial decisions today.

In the dissenting opinion for Wilson v. United States, Justice Brewer argued that a person's private papers should be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment. He contended that compelling an individual to produce their personal documents as evidence against themselves violated this constitutional protection. Furthermore, he believed it was irrelevant whether or not these papers were incriminating; what mattered was the invasion of privacy inherent in forcing someone to disclose them. In his view, such actions by government authorities amounted to tyranny and oppression reminiscent of practices in despotic governments which had no place in a free society like America where citizens' rights are constitutionally safeguarded.