Opinion ID: 6325142
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Requests for In Camera Review

Text: ¶56 We made clear in Madera that disclosure of a case file to the court for an in camera review “is still a form of disclosure.” 112 P.3d at 691. We noted that, even when the court’s in camera review results in no documents being released to the moving party, it could still have “a chilling effect on attorneys and their clients, especially if in camera review occurred frequently or was easily obtained.” Id. 26 Emphasizing the importance of the attorney-client privilege, we cautioned that trial courts “should be reluctant to review the contents of an attorney’s case file.” Id. Furthermore, we said, separate and apart from the presumption in favor of the privilege, there are challenges that should dissuade trial courts from unnecessarily reviewing an attorney’s case file. Id. at 690. Specifically, we mentioned the substantial burden such a review places on trial courts, not to mention the typical lack of guidance that makes an in camera review “tedious at best and probably unproductive as well.” Id. at 691. ¶57 Our comments in Madera cannot be squared with the position taken below by the prosecution and the district court. Both the prosecution and the district court seemed concerned with the prospect of having to rely on the public defender to produce all of the confidential information in her case files related to the ineffective assistance claim advanced. Digging in its heels, the prosecution now argues that the public defender “is not an impartial party” and, therefore, the district court, not the public defender, must determine what is relevant to the ineffective assistance claim submitted. But nowhere in Madera did we carve out an exception based on the prosecution’s mistrust of defense counsel. And such an exception is infeasible because it would swallow the rule. If the prosecution’s mistrust of a defense attorney sufficed to warrant an in camera review, the prosecution could frequently and easily obtain in camera review of defense 27 counsel’s case file. That would have an unacceptable chilling effect on attorneys and their clients. The prosecution must instead trust that the allegedly ineffective counsel will proceed in accordance with all ethical duties. ¶58 The district court and the prosecution maintain, however, that Madera allows an in camera review of the allegedly ineffective counsel’s case file if the prosecution makes a particular showing. We agree. But we disagree that the district court here implicitly found that the prosecution made the requisite showing.