There is a thought experiment where two people are accused of a crime. If you confess and your partner in crime accuses you, you get the punishment, but if it is the opposite, your partner gets it. If both defendants accuse each other, they both get convicted. It is an exercise in the limits of altruism, but married couples experience it. A successful marriage means getting your story straight with your spouse before either of you says anything to a third party; if you did not do this, your relatives and your in-laws would have torn your relationship with your spouse to shreds before you ever reached your first anniversary. 

In criminal law, defendants often face a tough choice when it comes to testifying against their co-defendants or risking punishment in the interest of not betraying a friend. It is a conflict between self-interest and honor among thieves. The conflict is exponentially more poignant when the co-defendant is a close family member, especially of your spouse. If you and your spouse are both being accused of a crime, contact a Tulsa criminal defense lawyer.

Would You Plead Guilty in the Name of Family Togetherness?

A Tulsa couple faced criminal charges in 2026 after police investigated complaints that they were keeping numerous animals at their house in unsafe conditions. When police executed a search warrant at the house, they found many dogs and cats in cages and roaming free, the body of a cat that had been dead for an unspecified period of time, and copious amounts of trash and animal waste. The house belongs to a family, and both parents faced charges for illegally using the house as a kennel and for animal cruelty. The neglected animals were removed from the house. They both pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. The court ordered them to attend Benchmark Animal Rehabilitative Classes (BARC). It also ordered the wife to pay criminal fines.

In cases where both spouses face criminal charges, each spouse should talk to his or her lawyer about a defense strategy that will be best for the whole family. If you believe that you are innocent or that the court only obtained incriminating evidence by violating your rights, you should plead not guilty and go to trial. Sometimes one spouse can arrange a plea deal where the other can avoid jail time, or even avoid felony charges entirely. In more serious cases, where both spouses get jail time, the court might order them to serve their sentences on alternating weeks, especially if the family has minor children living at home. If both spouses go to trial and refuse to testify against each other, the best way to do this is by exercising their right to remain silent and avoid self-incrimination from the beginning of their case.

Contact Tracy Tiernan About Criminal Defense Cases

A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges jointly with your spouse.  Contact Tracy Tiernan in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to discuss your case.