- This article is about a United States legal term. For the Commonwealth equivalent, see solicitor-client privilege.
Attorney-client privilege is a legal concept that protects communications between a client and his or her attorney and keeps those communications confidential. This privilege encourages open and honest communication between clients and attorneys. However, in the United States, not all state courts treat attorney communications as privileged. For instance, Washington state law, and the federal courts when applying federal law, only protect client communications—an attorney's communication will only be protected as privileged to the extent it contains or reveals the client's communications. In contrast, California state law protects the attorney's confidential communications regardless of whether they contain, refer to or reveal the client's communications. In addition, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that the privilege generally does not terminate upon the client's death. See Swidler & Berlin v. United States.[1] Image File history File links Scale_of_justice. ...
The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ...
This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ...
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. ...
Documentary evidence is any evidence introduced at a trial in the form of documents. ...
Physical evidence is any evidence introduced in a trial in the form of a physical object, intended to prove a fact in issue based on its demonstrable physical characteristics. ...
Digital evidence or electronic evidence is any probative information stored or transmitted in digital form that a party to a court case may use at trial. ...
Exculpatory evidence is the evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial, which clears or tends to clear the defendant of guilt. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Demonstrative evidence is evidence used to help the fact-finder gain context for the facts of the case. ...
This article is about the Hearsay rule of evidence in English law. ...
Hearsay is a legal term that describes a class of evidence generally disallowed by most courts in the United States. ...
Relevance, in the common law of evidence, is the tendency of a given item of evidence to prove or disprove one of the legal elements of the case, or to have probative value to make one of the elements of the case likelier or not. ...
In the common law, burden of proof is the obligation to prove allegations which are presented in a legal action. ...
In law, to lay a foundation means to provide sufficient evidence of the authenticity and relevance for the admission of the testimony of a witness, documentary evidence, or other piece of evidence. ...
A subsequent remedial measure is a term used in the law of evidence (law) in the United States to describe an improvement or repair made to a structure following an injury caused by the condition of that structure. ...
Character evidence is a term used in the law of evidence in the United States to describe any testimony or document submitted for the purpose of proving that a person acted in a particular way on a particular occasion based on the character or disposition of that person. ...
Habit evidence is a term used in the law of evidence in the United States to describe any evidence submitted for the purpose of proving that a person acted in a particular way on a particular occasion based on that persons tendancy to reflexively respond to a particular situation...
In the law of evidence, similar fact evidence (or the similar fact principle) establishes the conditions under which factual evidence of past misconduct of accused can be admitted at trial for the purpose of infering that the accused committed the misconduct at issue. ...
Authentication, in the law of evidence, is the process by which documentary evidence and other physical evidence is proven to be genuine, and not a forgery. ...
The chain of custody is a concept in jurisprudence which applies to the handling of evidence and its integrity. ...
Judicial Notice is a rule of evidence that allows a fact to be introduced into evidence if the truth of that fact is so notorious or well known that it is cannot be refuted. ...
The best evidence rule is a rule of evidence in the United States that requires that when writings are introduced as evidence in a trial, the original writing must be produced unless the party can account satisfactorily for its absence. ...
A self authenticating document, under the law of evidence in the United States is any document that can be admitted into evidence at a trial without any proof being submitted to support the claim that the document is what it appears to be. ...
An ancient document, in the law of evidence, refers to both a means of authentication for a piece of documentary evidence, and an exception to the hearsay rule. ...
This article is about witnesses in law courts. ...
In law, competence is conerns the mental capacity of a individual to participate in legal proceedings. ...
A privilege—etymologically private law or law relating to a specific individual—is an honour, or permissive activity granted by another person or a government. ...
Direct examination (also called examination in chief) is the questioning of a witness by the party who called him or her, in a trial in a court of law. ...
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by ones opponent. ...
Witness impeachment, in the law of evidence, is the process of calling into question the credibility of an individual who is testifying in a trial. ...
A recorded recollection, in the law of evidence, is a an exception to the hearsay rule which allows a witness to testify to the accuracy of a recording or documentation of their own out-of-court statement based on their recollection of the circumstances under which the statement was recorded...
An expert witness is a witness, who by virtue of education, or profession, or experience, is believed to have special knowledge of his subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon his opinion. ...
A dead man statute is a statute designed to prevent perjury in a civil case by prohibiting a witness who is an interested party from testifying about communications or transactions with a decedent, unless there is a waiver. ...
Hearsay in its most general and oldest meaning is a term used in the law of evidence to describe an out of court statement offered to establish the facts asserted in that statement. ...
An excited utterance, in the law of evidence, is a statement made by a person in response to a shocking event. ...
In the law of evidence, a dying declaration is testimony that would normally be barred as hearsay but may nonetheless be admitted as evidence in certain kinds of cases because it constituted the last words of a dying person. ...
A party admission, in the law of evidence, is any statement made by a declarant who is a party to a lawsuit, which is offered as evidence against that party. ...
An ancient document, in the law of evidence, refers to both a means of authentication for a piece of documentary evidence, and an exception to the hearsay rule. ...
Hearsay in its most general and oldest meaning is a term used in the law of evidence to describe an out of court statement offered to establish the facts asserted in that statement. ...
A present sense impression, in the law of evidence, is a statement made by a person that conveys their sense of the state of certain things at the time the statement was made. ...
This article is for the legal term Res Gestae. For the article on the record of the accomplishments of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, see the article for Res Gestae Divi Augusti. ...
A learned treatise, in the law of evidence, is a text that is sufficiently authoritiative in its field to be admissible as evidence in a court in support of the contentions made therein. ...
A contract is a legally binding exchange of promises or agreement between parties. ...
// Tort is a legal term that means civil wrong, as opposed to a criminal wrong. ...
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions) and in personal property, within the common law legal system. ...
In the common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. ...
The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of law which governs the management of personal affairs and the disposition of property of an individual in anticipation and the event of such persons incapacity or death, also known as the law of successions in civil law. ...
Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. ...
The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, the majority of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ...
In the law of commonwealth countries, solicitor-client privilege is a class-based privilege that protects all communcations between a solicitor and his or her clients from being disclosed in court against clients will. ...
An attorney is someone who represents someone else in the transaction of business: For attorney-at-law, see lawyer, solicitor, barrister or civil law notary. ...
A privilege—etymologically private law or law relating to a specific individual—is an honour, or permissive activity granted by another person or a government. ...
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and is the only part of the judicial branch of the United States federal government explicitly specified in the United States Constitution. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Holding Communications between a client and a lawyer are protected by attorney-client privilege even after the clients death. ...
General requirements under United States law
The general requirements for a valid assertion of attorney-client privilege in many jurisdictions in the United States are: - The asserted holder of the privilege is (or sought to become) a client; and
- The person to whom the communication was made:
- is a member of the bar of a court, or his subordinate, and
- in connection with this communication, is acting as an attorney; and
- The communication relates to a fact of which the attorney was informed:
- by his client,
- without the presence of strangers,
- for the purpose of securing primarily either:
- an opinion on law, or
- legal services, or
- assistance in some legal proceeding,
- and not for the purpose of committing a crime or tort; and
- The privilege has been claimed, and
- The privilege has not been waived.[2]
The attorney-client privilege is separate from and should not be confused with the work-product doctrine.
Limits of attorney-client privilege In the United States, communications between accountants and their clients are usually not privileged, so a person worried about accusations of questionable accounting (such as tax evasion) may decide to work only with an attorney (or an accountant who is also an attorney); some or all of the resulting communications may be privileged provided that all the requirements for the attorney-client privilege are met. The mere fact that the practitioner is an attorney will not create a valid attorney-client privilege with respect to a communication, for example, that involves business or accounting advice rather than legal advice. Accountant, or Qualified Accountant, or Professional Accountant, or Accountancy Practitioner, is an accountancy and financial experts legally certified in different jurisdictions to originally worked only in public practices, selling advice and services to other individuals and businesses, but today in addition many work within private corporations, financial industry and government...
This article contrasts tax evasion, tax avoidance, tax resistance and tax mitigation. ...
Under Federal tax law in the United States, for communications on or after July 22, 1998, there is a limited Federally authorized tax practitioner privilege that may apply to certain communications with non-attorneys. See Accountant-client privilege. Tax Practitioner-Client Privilege is a confidentiality privilege available in American federal tax law. ...
When an attorney is not acting primarily as an attorney but, for instance, as a business advisor, member of the Board of Directors, or in another non-legal role, then the privilege generally does not apply.[3] Accordingly, the attorney-client privilege is probably not available when an attorney is acting as a tax return preparer. Tax preparation is a service intended to result in disclosure to the Internal Revenue Service and some United States courts have held that the work papers and discussions with clients relative to the preparation of tax returns are not protected. . The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the United States government agency that collects taxes and enforces the tax laws. ...
The privilege protects the confidential communication, and not the underlying information. For instance, if a client has previously disclosed confidential information to a third party who is not an attorney, and then gives the same information to an attorney, the attorney-client privilege will still protect the communication to the attorney, but will not protect the information provided to the third party.
The privilege may be waived if the confidential communications are disclosed to third parties.
Other limits to the privilege may apply depending on the situation being adjudicated; for instance, the crime-fraud exception can render the privilege moot when communications between an attorney and client are themselves used to further a crime or fraud. In Clark v. United States, the US Supreme Court writes that "A client who consults an attorney for advice that will serve him in the commission of a fraud will have no help from the law. He must let the truth be told." [4] The crime-fraud exception also does not require that the crime or fraud discussed between client and attorney be completed to be triggered. US Courts have not yet conclusively ruled how little knowledge an attorney can have of the underlying crime or fraud before the privilege detaches and the attorney's communications or requisite testimony become admissible.[5] The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States...
In the Federal Courts If a case arises in the federal court system, the federal court will apply Rule 501 of the Federal Rules of Evidence to determine whether to apply the privilege law of the relevant state or federal common law. If the case is brought to the federal court under diversity jurisdiction, the law of the relevant state will be used to apply the privilege. If the case involves a federal question, the federal court will apply the federal common law of attorney-client privilege. However, Rule 501 grants flexibility to the federal courts, allowing them to construe the privilege "in light of experience and reason." The Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) are the rules that govern the admissibility of evidence in the United States federal court system. ...
Diversity jurisdiction is a term used in civil procedure to refer to the situation in which a United States district court has subject matter jurisdiction to hear a civil case because the parties are diverse, meaning that they come from different states. ...
Federal question jurisdiction is a term used in the United States law of civil procedure to refer to the situation in which a United States federal court has subject matter jurisdiction to hear a civil case because the plaintiff has alleged a violation of the Constitution, laws, or treaties of...
Notes - ^ 524 U.S. 399 (1998).
- ^ See, e.g., Colton v. United States, 306 F.2d 633, 637 (2d Cir. 1962), cert. denied, 371 U.S. 951, 83 S. Ct. 505 (1963), citing United States v. United Shoe Mach. Corp., 89 F. Supp. 357, 358-59 (D. Mass. 1950).
- ^ North Pacifica, LLC v. City of Pacifica, 274 F.Supp.2d 1118, 1127 (N.D. Cal 2003); Handguards, Inc. v. Johnson & Johnson, 69 F.R.D. 451, 453 (N.D. Cal 1975).
- ^ Clark v. United States, 289 U.S. 1, 15 (1933)
- ^ See, eg United States v. Bauer 132 F.3d 504 (9th Cir. 1997) vs. In re Grand Jury Proceedings (1996) (9th Cir. 1996).
See also In the law of commonwealth countries, solicitor-client privilege is a class-based privilege that protects all communcations between a solicitor and his or her clients from being disclosed in court against clients will. ...
The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, the majority of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ...
Tax Practitioner-Client Privilege is a confidentiality privilege available in American federal tax law. ...
In the laws of many common law jurisdictions, the concept of legal privilege, or the rule that certain conversations are so private and confidential that they cannot be used as evidence in court, extends to communication between a patient and physician. ...
The spousal privilege, also known as the marital communication privilege or marital privilege, is a form of privileged communication protecting the contents of communications between husband and wife. ...
The priest penitent privilege, also known as the clergy privilege, is an application of the principle of privileged communication that purports to protect the contents of communications between a member of the clergy and communicant, who shares information in confidence. ...
Shield laws are laws to protect a reporters right to keep their source confidential. ...
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