Embattled city officials David Banks and Sheena Wright got married on Martha’s Vineyard last Saturday, in the midst of ongoing federal investigations concerning them and others within Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle. Earlier this month, the FBI searched Banks’ and Wright’s shared home in Harlem and seized their phones. Wright remains Adams’ First Deputy Mayor despite a string of resignations in City Hall over the past month, while Banks, formerly New York City’s schools Chancellor, stepped down last Tuesday. Last Thursday, Mayor Adams issued an executive order allowing Wright to delegate her duties to the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services should she be “unable to perform” them herself, simply by declaring so “in writing.” Spokeswoman for the mayor’s office Allison Maser brushed off speculation that the order suggests Wright could imminently step down: “It is simply good governance to establish a clear line of succession, for the sake of continuity, in the instance that the mayor and first deputy mayor are both out of pocket.”
One question surrounding the marriage of Banks and Wright is whether the couple will benefit from spousal privilege, as marriage generally grants the right of spouses to refuse to testify against one another in legal proceedings, and protects their communications. Experts are split on whether these privileges would apply to the newlyweds. Speaking to the New York Times, NYU Law professor Erin Murphy asserts that the privileges are “very broad,” and that the couple could even have asserted them on the basis of a common law marriage, without necessarily formalizing officially.
According to findlaw.com, common law marriages are generally recognized when they meet two conditions: they must be living together for a period of time, and they must be declaring themselves as married to their friends, family, and the broader community. By all accounts, Banks’ and Wright’s relationship and cohabitation is longstanding, and sources have told the Times that the couple even had plans to tie the knot last summer before Wright’s mother fell ill. “This strikes me as two people in a long-term committed relationship who perhaps chose to formalize that relationship for legal clarity or to ensure access to the privileges the state gives to marriages,” Murphy concludes.
Defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor Duncan Levin disagrees. Speaking to the New York Post, he acknowledges spousal privilege generally, but adds that it “disappears when both are co-defendants in the same criminal matter.” It is still unknown whether the federal authorities are investigating each spouse for the same crime. Levin also adds that spousal privilege does not protect communications prior to marriage, which Banks and Wright were not until this weekend. Levin believes that their marriage is “highly unlikely to change anything whatsoever.”
While common law marriage might be asserted by the couple for their relationship prior to the wedding, New York State is one of the majority of states that does not recognize common law marriage. According to findlaw.com, states that do not have common law marriage only recognize it if the marriage has already been acknowledged in another state that does, according to the full faith and credit clause, which says that states must respect other states’ laws. The Post goes on to note that the newlyweds could even find themselves in deeper trouble for their marriage, as authorities could slap them with obstruction of justice charges if evidence shows that they married specifically to avoid testifying.
According to the Times, those close to the couple insist that this is not the case, with one stating that “they need a little bit of joy.”
