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New Jersey Assembly chamber.

(Tony Kurdzuk | The Star-Ledger file photo)

TRENTON — The state Assembly today passed a measure to remove the legal protection for communications between spouses when those conversations involve planning a crime.

The bill (A3636) follows the state Supreme Court's call for a crime-fraud exception to the marital and civil union communications privilege.

In that case, police wiretapped the communications between a couple they suspected of drug trafficking. While a trial judge ruled the communications could be used at trial because they were observed by a third party through the wire tap, an appellate court and the state Supreme Court decided they were still privileged.

The justices suggested the Legislature create the exception and amend the New Jersey Rules of Evidence so spouses cannot invoke privilege when they’re both part of an illegal scheme.

The privilege between spouses exists to foster uninhibited communication and to protect the sanctity of marriage and civil unions, Assemblyman Joseph Lagana (D-Bergen) said in a statement. But without the exception, he said, it inoculates conversations about criminal behavior.

The measure passed 73-0.

Similar exceptions exist for the usually protected communications, such as those between attorneys and clients and doctors and patients.

“The proposed change would strike an appropriate balance between marital and civil union privacy and the public’s interest in attaining justice,” Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex) said in a statement. “It’s a common-sense change that continues to respect marital privileges while also keeping the need for justice in mind.”

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Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com . Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.