Which statement is an example of a privilege under public policy as it relates to evidence exclusion?

Which statement is an example of a privilege under public policy as it relates to evidence exclusion?

• A. Attorney-client communications
• B. Public records
• C. Commercial advertisements
• D. Ordinary business communications

Answer: (A)

Confidential communications between a lawyer and a client are protected by a privilege designed to promote honest and complete legal advice. This privilege means those communications cannot be forced into evidence because keeping them confidential encourages clients to speak openly and seek candid counsel. The privilege applies when the communication is intended to be confidential and is made for the purpose of seeking, receiving, or providing legal advice, and it generally belongs to the client; it can be waived only by the client or pierced in specific narrow situations, such as evidence of crimes or fraud that the client seeks to conceal. Public records, commercial advertisements, and ordinary business communications don’t fit this protection. Public records aren’t confidential by nature, so they aren’t privileged just for that reason and may be excluded only under other rules. Advertisements aren’t confidential legal communications, and ordinary business talks aren’t treated as privileged unless they somehow fit another evidentiary protection. The attorney-client privilege is the classic example of a public-policy-based privilege that excludes evidence to preserve the integrity of legal representation.

Confidential communications between a lawyer and a client are protected by a privilege designed to promote honest and complete legal advice. This privilege means those communications cannot be forced into evidence because keeping them confidential encourages clients to speak openly and seek candid counsel. The privilege applies when the communication is intended to be confidential and is made for the purpose of seeking, receiving, or providing legal advice, and it generally belongs to the client; it can be waived only by the client or pierced in specific narrow situations, such as evidence of crimes or fraud that the client seeks to conceal.

Public records, commercial advertisements, and ordinary business communications don’t fit this protection. Public records aren’t confidential by nature, so they aren’t privileged just for that reason and may be excluded only under other rules. Advertisements aren’t confidential legal communications, and ordinary business talks aren’t treated as privileged unless they somehow fit another evidentiary protection. The attorney-client privilege is the classic example of a public-policy-based privilege that excludes evidence to preserve the integrity of legal representation.