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Dadparvar
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The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a 7-2 decision on Friday that an exception to solicitor-client privilege may be available to lawyers to fully defend themselves against potential criminal charges.
The SCC stated that a lawyer can invoke the “innocence at stake” exception when they need to access and use otherwise privileged client communications in their own defense of a criminal offense. The majority held that “a lawyer’s duties cannot override their constitutional right to make a full answer and defence to a criminal charge against them, a constitutional right held by any accused person.”
The court explained that the innocent at stake exception, which was first considered by the court in R v McClure in 2001, imposes a “stringent” test and that “[t]he privilege should be infringed only where core issues going to the guilt of the accused are involved, and there is a genuine risk of a wrongful conviction.”
The SCC said the “McClure test” could be adapted to situations where lawyers seek access to their client’s privileged communications to defend themselves against criminal offenses, stating:
Solicitor-client privilege “is a cornerstone of the lawyer-client relationship” and applies to “communications between the lawyer and client for the purpose of seeking or giving legal advice.” The privilege belongs with the client, not the lawyer, and helps to ensure lawyers are fully informed and permits clients to disclose everything necessary in furtherance of their legal objectives.
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The SCC stated that a lawyer can invoke the “innocence at stake” exception when they need to access and use otherwise privileged client communications in their own defense of a criminal offense. The majority held that “a lawyer’s duties cannot override their constitutional right to make a full answer and defence to a criminal charge against them, a constitutional right held by any accused person.”
The court explained that the innocent at stake exception, which was first considered by the court in R v McClure in 2001, imposes a “stringent” test and that “[t]he privilege should be infringed only where core issues going to the guilt of the accused are involved, and there is a genuine risk of a wrongful conviction.”
The SCC said the “McClure test” could be adapted to situations where lawyers seek access to their client’s privileged communications to defend themselves against criminal offenses, stating:
In the case before the court, a criminal defense lawyer named Sharon Fox was charged at trial for obstruction of justice based on the non-privileged part of a wiretapped call with her client during an RCMP investigation into cocaine trafficking. The court held that Fox “had the right to bring forward a McClure application to seek access to her client’s privileged communications for use in her own defense.
Solicitor-client privilege “is a cornerstone of the lawyer-client relationship” and applies to “communications between the lawyer and client for the purpose of seeking or giving legal advice.” The privilege belongs with the client, not the lawyer, and helps to ensure lawyers are fully informed and permits clients to disclose everything necessary in furtherance of their legal objectives.
The post SCC rules exception to solicitor-client privilege is available for lawyers’ defense appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.