Opinion ID: 867478
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Intrusion into the Attorney-Client Relationship

Text: ¶ 71 Moody claims that the State interfered in his relationship with counsel in two ways during a two-month span at the beginning of Moody's detainment in early 1994. ¶ 72 In February of 1994, a Pima County corrections officer made derogatory statements about Moody's first attorney, Daniel Grills. When Grills brought this to the court's attention, Judge Hantman ordered the Sheriff's Department to avoid contact with Moody concerning legal matters. The State contends that this error was remedied by our decision in State v. Moody, 192 Ariz. 505, 968 P.2d 578 (1998). We agree. Moody has failed to explain how, if at all, any prejudice stemming from this incident survived the reversal and affected him on retrial. Consequently, we address only Moody's second claim. ¶ 73 Two months later, on April 4, 1994, Pima County Corrections Officer Alan Chaffey, who had previously been instructed by his supervisor to keep an eye on Mr. Moody and report any observations he found interesting, overheard Moody make a phone call to his attorney in which Moody discussed his idea for a legal defense that he had read about ... in two books. Officer Chaffey then searched Moody's cell and discovered two books about alien abduction: Communion and The Breakthrough, Communion Continues. ¶ 74 Before retrial, Moody moved to dismiss the charges against him, alleging that the State intentionally interfered in the attorney-client relationship. The trial court denied that motion without elaboration. Contending that the prosecutor took deliberate actions to penetrate the attorney-client privilege and destroy counsel's relationship with his client, Moody now claims that the trial court erred in denying the motion and asks us to vacate his convictions and dismiss the charges against him. ¶ 75 We review a trial court's ruling on a motion to dismiss for an abuse of discretion. State v. Hansen, 156 Ariz. 291, 294, 751 P.2d 951, 954 (1988) (citing State v. Pickett, 121 Ariz. 142, 145, 589 P.2d 16, 19 (1978)). ¶ 76 The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 24 of the Arizona Constitution guarantee a criminal defendant the right to assistance of counsel. This right includes protection against improper intrusions by the prosecutor or other government agents into the confidential relationship between a defendant and his attorney. State v. Warner, 150 Ariz. 123, 127, 722 P.2d 291, 295 (1986). We recognize that effective representation is not possible without the right of a defendant to confer in private with ... counsel. Holland, 147 Ariz. at 455, 711 P.2d at 594; see also Ariz. R.Crim. P. 6.1(a). ¶ 77 The defendant bears the initial burden to establish an interference in the attorney-client relationship. Once he does so, the state bears the burden of demonstrating that the defendant was not prejudiced by the interference and must convince the court beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant received a fair trial. Warner, 150 Ariz. at 128, 722 P.2d at 296. ¶ 78 Addressing the first part of this equation, Moody claims that the correction officer's actions in eavesdropping on his conversation interfered with his relationship with counsel. The relevant inquiry, however, is whether the state interfered with the confidential relationship between a defendant and his attorney. Id. at 127, 722 P.2d at 295 (emphasis added). The State argues that Moody waived his interest in the confidentiality of the telephone call and that the corrections officer did not interfere in a confidential attorney-client relationship. The evidence showed that Officer Chaffey was sitting approximately fifteen feet from Moody during the conversation; that Moody knew the officer was there but made no attempt to protect the contents of his conversation by turning his back, speaking softly, or covering his mouth; and that Officer Chaffey did not have to listen closely or eavesdrop to hear what Moody was saying. ¶ 79 Although not binding on our resolution of confidentiality requirements, our case law on evidentiary privilege is instructive. The cases suggest that one who knows that his conversation may be overheard and makes no effort to safeguard against interception may waive a claim of confidentiality. In De Leon v. Territory, 9 Ariz. 161, 168-69, 80 P. 348, 351 (1905), Arizona's landmark case on privilege, this court held that the defendant waived his spousal communications privilege when he wrote a letter to his wife from jail knowing that the jailers would open the letter. Similarly, in State v. Summerlin, 138 Ariz. 426, 434-35, 675 P.2d 686, 694-95 (1983), we held that the spousal communication privilege was waived because the defendant spoke to his wife knowing that police officers could hear him and were listening to him. And the court of appeals recently held that [t]he presence of a third person will usually defeat the [attorney-client] privilege on the ground that confidentiality could not be intended with respect to communications that the speaker knowingly allowed to be overheard by others foreign to the confidential relationship. State v. Sucharew, 205 Ariz. 16, 22, ¶ 11, 66 P.3d 59, 65 (App.2003) (quoting Morris K. Udall, et al., Law of Evidence § 71, at 128 (3d. ed.1991)) (alteration in original). While some factual distinctions exist, this case law suggests that Moody knowingly waived his privacy interest in the content of the conversation. ¶ 80 Although eavesdropping on privileged calls and opening privileged materials intrude into the attorney-client relationship, see State v. Pecard, 196 Ariz. 371, 376-78, ¶¶ 26-37, 998 P.2d 453, 458-60 (App.1999) (finding an intrusion into the attorney-client relationship where defendant's telephone calls with his attorney were recorded, his privileged mail to and from his attorney was opened, and privileged work product documents were taken from his cell), the facts in Moody's case are not nearly so extreme. There was no surreptitious eavesdropping, recording, or reporting of communications or affect that were not readily apparent to anyone who had been in the vicinity. ¶ 81 Although the trial court's denial of Moody's motion to dismiss included no specific findings, we presume that the court was aware of the relevant law and applied it correctly in arriving at its ruling, see State v. Medrano, 185 Ariz. 192, 196, 914 P.2d 225, 229 (1996), and we can affirm the ruling on any basis supported by the record. See State v. Robinson, 153 Ariz. 191, 199, 735 P.2d 801, 809 (1987) (reviewing evidentiary rulings). Based on the evidence before us, we find no abuse of discretion. The trial judge may have found the corrections officer's testimony credible, a determination to which we would defer. See State v. Hughes, 13 Ariz.App. 391, 393, 477 P.2d 265, 266-67 (1970) (deferring to the trial court's credibility evaluation). On the basis of that testimony, the trial court may reasonably have concluded that Moody waived the confidentiality of the communication with his attorney by making no effort to safeguard the content of his conversation. Thus, we cannot conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in denying this motion to dismiss. ¶ 82 Because we conclude there was no intrusion into the attorney-client relationship, we need not address whether Moody was prejudiced by any intrusion. Similarly, we need not address how, if at all, Moody was prejudiced by the prosecution forwarding Officer Chaffey's report to the mental health experts. Chaffey discovered the books during a routine investigation of Moody's cell. The overheard telephone conversation is necessary to give context to the books sufficient to raise a claim that the discovery inculpated the attorney-client relationship. Consequently, our conclusion that the trial court did not err in finding that Moody waived any confidentiality interest resolves this issue as well.