A lawyer for two members of an Attleboro religious sect argued that they should not have to tell a court whether they have had a baby.
David and Rebecca Corneau were found in contempt of court last week for failing to disclose the whereabouts of their newborn baby.
NewsCenter 5's Rhondella Richardson reports that attorney J.W. Carney argued that bringing the child to court would be a violation of the couple's Fifth Amendment rights and rights in Article 12 of the Massachusetts Constitution against self-incrimination.
"These two people will go to jail if they do not produce the child and so that directly implicates their Fifth Amendment rights," Judge Janis Barry said.
A lawyer for the Department of Social Services said that bringing the child in would not impact the couple's rights.
" What I am suggesting is that the production of the child does not create a Fifth Amendment or Article 12 problem," DSS attorney Virginia Peel said.
But Carney said that bringing in the child -- that the Corneaus have not admitted exists -- would potentially allow a case to be built against his clients.
"If the act of furnishing evidence would tend to incriminate the party, the government cannot compel him or her to do so," Carney said.
Peel argued that the welfare of the child should take precedence.
"I don't believe there is a greater right than the right of a child to be free of abuse and neglect in this commonwealth," Peel said. "If you follow attorney Carney's argument to its logical conclusion, the commonwealth would be powerless to protect vulnerable children."
Carney said that his clients' wishes to protect their rights is not an admission of guilt.
"A very important point to always remember is that even innocent people can assert their privilege under Article 12 and Fifth Amendment if the evidence they produce would be used in an unjust prosecution of them," Carney said.
The Corneaus were scheduled to have a hearing on the contempt ruling in Attleboro court Wednesday at 9 a.m., but the appeals court judge will not have her decision until that morning. The Corneaus hearing has been rescheduled to 2 p.m.