Client Confidentiality & Monitored Phone Calls in Broward Jail

Broward criminal lawyer William Moore’s clients are always informed about the private nature of their conversations with him. Attorney-client privilege or confidentiality has two components. First, there is the confidential nature of conversations between a client and his Broward criminal lawyer. The criminal defense attorney cannot share information that the client tells him in the talks that they have privately or with only necessary legal office staff present without the client’s permission. Generally, a Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney will only have reason to disclose that information insofar as it is necessary to build his client’s case. For instance, Broward criminal attorney William Moore’s client X is accused of robbing Y at 9:00 p.m. on the corner of L and M Streets. However, X says that there is no way he could have been the robber, because he was with his pal T at that time. In most cases, X would give his criminal defense lawyer permission to contact T to verify the alibi. The Broward defense lawyer could not call up his friend Q to tell him about the all of the juicy stuff X said for his own entertainment.

(Fort Lauderdale Criminal Lawyer Source)

The second kind of attorney-client privilege is related to evidence in court. A lawyer who currently represents or formerly represented a client cannot testify against that client in court without the client’s express permission. Only the client can waive the privilege, not the attorney.

The main loophole in attorney-client confidentiality is known as the crime-fraud exception. If a Broward criminal lawyer’s client told him of her plans to blow up Dolphin Stadium when the Patriots come to town, the lawyer can and should disclose that information to prevent the commission of the crime. Information a client tells her lawyer about crimes or fraud she plans to perpetrate in the future are not confidential, although past misdeeds are. A criminal defense lawyer should always avoid having their advice used to formulate future crimes.

The issue of lawyer-client confidentiality is in the spotlight right now in a murder case in Broward County. An inmate charged with murder made calls to his attorney from the Broward jail, which were recorded and subsequently sent to prosecutors, who listened to the tape. Now, the criminal defense attorney and the prosecutors are fighting in court about whether or not the murder trial should continue. The defendant’s lawyer says that the two discussed legal strategy and that the defendant is too prejudiced by this development for the trial to continue. Meanwhile, the prosecutors have argued to the court that the defendant waived confidentiality by answering ‘yes’ to automated prompts indicating that the call was being recorded. Generally, calls to phone numbers lawyers list with the Florida Bar are not recorded, but the lawyer had provided the client with a different number.

Broward criminal lawyer William Moore has experience in a wide range of criminal defense situations. An arrest can damage all aspects of your life, including your employment prospects and custody and visitation of your children. If you have been charged with a crime in Florida, contact William Moore, P.A., which is an experienced Fort Lauderdale criminal law firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale-Dade, Broward, and Fort Lauderdale Counties.

This article should be used for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.