Opinion ID: 2511836
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: S.A. 60-426 Attorney-Client Privilege and KRPC 3.8(e)

Text: Having addressed the general distinction between privilege law and attorney ethics rules on client confidences, we now turn to the extraordinary nature of the situation in this case and the applicable attorney ethics rule, i.e., a prosecutor's issuance of a subpoena to compel testimony about a former client from a defense lawyer in a criminal proceeding and KRPC 3.8(e). The prosecutor invoked KRPC 3.8(e) to obtain issuance of the subpoena to McKinnon. He did so with good reason. KRPC 3.8(e) speaks directly to the prosecutor's ethical obligation in such a mercifully rare scenario, and it prohibits a prosecutor from subpoenaing a defense lawyer in a criminal proceeding to present evidence about a past or present client unless the prosecutor reasonably believes: (1) the information sought is not protected from disclosure by any applicable privilege; (2) the evidence sought is essential to the successful completion of an ongoing investigation or prosecution; and (3) there is no other feasible alternative to obtain the information. 2009 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. at 565. At least three underlying principles are evident in the language of this rule. First, the prosecutor's role in our criminal justice system is unique, and it carries concomitant responsibilities. The prosecutor is a representative of the government in an adversary criminal proceeding, which means he or she must be held to a standard not expected of attorneys who represent ordinary parties to litigation. Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88, 55 S.Ct. 629, 79 L.Ed. 1314 (1935). As we stated in State v. Pabst, 268 Kan. 501, 996 P.2d 321 (2000): A prosecutor is a servant of the law and a representative of the people of Kansas.... Sixty-five years ago the United States Supreme Court said that the prosecutor represents `a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all; and whose interest, therefore, in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done.' Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. [at] 88 [55 S.Ct. 629]. 268 Kan. at 510, 996 P.2d 321. The comments to KRPC 3.8, Comment [1] (2009 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 565) make this explicit: A prosecutor has the responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply that of an advocate. Second, Rule 3.8(e)(1)'s near-total prohibition on subpoenas directed to an attorney to obtain evidence protected by privilege reinforces the indispensability of attorney-client privilege in the effective and efficient functioning of the administration of justice. The attorney-client privilege is the oldest of the common-law privileges and exists to encourage full and frank communication between attorneys and their clients in order to promote broader public interests in the observance of law and administration of justice. Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383, 389, 101 S.Ct. 677, 66 L.Ed.2d 584 (1981); see also State ex rel. Stovall v. Meneley, 271 Kan. at 373, 22 P.3d 124 (privilege fosters candid communication); Wallace, Saunders, Austin, Brown & Enochs, Chtd. v. Louisburg Grain Co., 250 Kan. 54, Syl. ¶ 10, 824 P.2d 933 (1992) (privilege should not be set aside lightly). Third, the limitations that KRPC 3.8(e)(2) and (3) place on the power to compel an attorney to provide nonprivileged evidence about a client to those situations in which there is a genuine need to intrude in the client-lawyer relationship communicate a general unwillingness to intrude. See Comment [4] to KRPC 3.8 (2009 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 566). These limitations are based on the generally accepted principle that the attorney-client relationship should not be disturbed without cause. United States v. Colorado Supreme Court, 189 F.3d 1281, 1288 (10th Cir.1999) (construing Colorado's equivalent to KRPC 3.8[e]). In Colorado Supreme Court, the Tenth Circuit explained the bases for the special protections the law affords the attorney-client relationship: The importance of the attorney-client relationship is evidenced by the various privileges which protect it. The attorney-client privilege is `one of the oldest recognized privileges for confidential communication known to the common law' and works to foster the underlying relationship. Upjohn Co. v. United States , 449 U.S [at] 389 [101 S.Ct. 677]; see also Swidler & Berlin [ v. U.S. ], 524 U.S. 399, 118 S.Ct. 2081, 2084, 141 L.Ed.2d 379 (1998). Similarly, the work product privilege fosters `the general policy against invading the privacy of an attorney's course of preparation [which] is so well recognized and so essential to an orderly working of our system of legal procedure that a burden rests on the one who would invade that privacy to establish adequate reasons to justify production through a subpoena or court order.' Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 511, 67 S.Ct. 385, 91 L.Ed. 451 (1947). The legal profession's `ethical obligation' of confidentiality is a corollary to these privileges. See Upjohn Co., 449 U.S. at 391, 101 S.Ct. 677 (citing ABA code of Professional Responsibility, 4-1). United States v. Colorado Supreme Court, 189 F.3d at 1287. We also note that discovery limitations imposed on parties seeking attorney work product are similar to the need-based limitations of KRPC 3.8(e)(2) and (3). The work product rule, codified at K.S.A. 60-226(b)(4), permits discovery of attorney work product only upon `a showing that the party seeking discovery has a substantial need for the material and cannot without undue hardship obtain the substantial equivalent by other means.' Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing Co. v. Simmons, 274 Kan. 194, 218, 50 P.3d 66 (2002) (quoting Cypress Media, Inc. v. City of Overland Park, 268 Kan. 407, 426, 997 P.2d 681 [2000]). The work-product limitations are based on policy considerations that are similar to those underlying the attorney-client privilege. `[W]ork product immunity rests on the idea it is necessary to preserve the independence of the lawyer and thus, indirectly, the adversary system.' [Citation omitted.] Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing Co., 274 Kan. at 218, 50 P.3d 66. Specifically, the work product rule is based on `the need for the lawyer handling a case to have full rein to develop his theory and strategy in the case if the adversary system is to work effectively. To perform this role the lawyer needs to be able to work without fear of disclosure, at least in the earlier stages of preparation. And he needs protection from the possibility that he will be cast in the role of a witness and, even worse, of a witness antagonistic to other witnesses upon whose testimony his client's case may depend.' [Citations omitted.] 274 Kan. at 218-19, 50 P.3d 66. The requirement that there be a genuine need in order to compel an attorney to provide information relating to representation of a client found both in the work-product rule and in KRPC 3.8(e)(2) and (3) also implicitly recognizes the chilling effect such a subpoena can have on the trust that is an essential component of the attorney-client relationship. United States v. Colorado Supreme Court, 189 F.3d at 1288 (client's concern over whether attorney will testify against him, withdraw inevitably undermines important trust, openness); United States v. Klubock, 832 F.2d 649, 653 (1st Cir.1987) ( Klubock I ), vacated by 832 F.2d 664 (1st Cir.1987) (equally divided en banc court) ( Klubock II ) (discussing Massachusetts ethics rule similar to KRPC 3.8[e], noting problems inherent in such subpoenas include driving a chilling wedge between the attorney/witness and his client, causing client to be uncertain at best, and suspicious at worst, that his legitimate trust in his attorney may be subject to betrayal); see also Whitehouse v. United States Dist. Court for Dist. of Rhode Island, 53 F.3d 1349, 1358 (1st Cir.1995) (noting decision in Klubock I vacated because court sitting en banc equally divided; nevertheless approving Klubock I rationale). The need-based requirements of KRPC 3.8(e)(2) and (3) also implicitly recognize the potential for abuse and harassment that exists when a prosecutor issues a subpoena to opposing defense counsel. Potential misuse includes interference with a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel by diverting the attorney's time and resources from the client through creation of a second front in the litigation and, ultimately, by forcing counsel's withdrawal or disqualification. See Klubock I, 832 F.2d at 653-54; Whitehouse, 53 F.3d at 1358. At the time the district judge considered issuance of the subpoena to McKinnon in this case, we had made no statement that he was obligated to conduct a KRPC 3.8(e) analysis. It has not previously been discussed in interpreting, construing, or applying attorney-client privilege under K.S.A. 60-426. However, the prosecutor's instinct in seeking judicial intervention before seeing that the subpoena was issued and served and in invoking KRPC 3.8(e) in his motion for the subpoena was correct. Likewise, the judge's decision to follow the prosecutor's lead on this point, evaluating the three factors of KRPC 3.8(e) before permitting the subpoena to be issued was correct. The arguments pursued and procedures followed by the prosecutor and judge demonstrate their appreciation for the extraordinary nature of the action sought and the essential quality of the relationship McKinnon believed herself duty-bound to protect. Weighty interests are at stake when the issuance of such subpoenas is contemplated, and it is appropriateindeed, we decide today necessaryto proceed with extreme caution. In view of the role and importance of a trustworthy and confidential attorney-client relationship, particularly in our adversary system of criminal justice, and of the potential for damage to that system if the relationship is too cavalierly invaded or compromised, we hereby adopt the procedure followed here as a requirement. Moreover, we approve KRPC 3.8(e) as the analytical rubric for a district court judge considering a prosecutor's motion for issuance of a subpoena to compel criminal defense counsel to testify about a current or former client's confidential information. A judge may not issue such a subpoena unless the prosecutor files a motion and establishes that (1) the information sought is not protected from disclosure by any applicable privilege; (2) the evidence sought is essential to the successful completion of an ongoing investigation or prosecution; and (3) there is no other feasible alternative to obtain the information. The first of the factors, the existence of a privilege under K.S.A. 60-426, acts as a threshold consideration, as a privilege generally cannot be overcome by a showing of need. See Admiral Ins. v. United States Dist. Court for Dist. of Ariz., 881 F.2d 1486, 1494-95 (9th Cir.1989) (privilege takes precedence over need for information); The St. Luke Hospitals, Inc. v. Kopowski, 160 S.W.3d 771, 776-77 (Ky.2005) (when a communication is protected by the attorney-client privilege it may not be overcome by a showing of need by an opposing party to obtain the information contained in the privileged communication); compare K.S.A.2009 Supp. 60-245(c)(3)(A)(iii) (subpoena shall be quashed if information sought protected by privilege) and K.S.A.2009 Supp. 60-245(c)(3)(B)(i) (in considering a motion to quash or modify subpoena for confidential trade secrets or commercial information, if issuing party shows substantial need for the information, court may impose protective conditions on attendance/production); see also Wesley Medical Center v. Clark, 234 Kan. 13, 20-27, 669 P.2d 209 (1983) (recognizing difference between absolute privilege, qualified privilege; absolute privilege makes need irrelevant; qualified privilege allows court to control discovery of nonprivileged confidential information based on considerations that include need). Accordingly, if the evidence the prosecutor seeks is protected from disclosure by the statutory attorney-client privilege, the KRPC 3.8(e) criteria cannot be met and the subpoena cannot issue, regardless of whether the information is essential to the prosecution and there is no other feasible alternative to obtain the information. If, however, the prosecutor establishes that the information is not protected by the privilege, then the last two factors must also be established in order to approve the issuance of the subpoena. If the subpoena is approved and served, the attorney subject to the subpoena may file a motion to quash. The grounds for quashing the subpoena may include a challenge to the existence of any of the three KRPC 3.8(e) factors, as well as any of the other factors listed in K.S.A. 60-245(c). On such a motion to quash, the initial determinations made on the KRPC 3.8(e) factors in order to issue the subpoena have no preclusive effect, as those determinations were made without the participation of the attorney subject to the subpoena. Thus the State retains the burden of demonstrating the existence of each of the KRPC 3.8(e) factors, with one modification. If the attorney invokes the attorney-client privilege, the attorney has the burden to show the privilege applies. State ex rel. Stovall v. Meneley, 271 Kan. at 374, 22 P.3d 124 (party asserting attorney-client privilege bears burden of proof to establish all essential elements of it). If, on the other hand, the State contends an exception to the privilege applies, the State has the burden of establishing the existence of the exception. See Wallace, Saunders, Austin, Brown & Enochs, Chtd. v. Louisburg Grain Co., 250 Kan. at 60-61, 824 P.2d 933 (party seeking to invoke crime-fraud exception bears burden of making out prima facie case of fraud); see also 9 A.L.R.6th 363, Crime-Fraud Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege in State Courts: Contemplated Crime (recognizing general rule that party asserting crime-fraud exception bears burden of establishing prima facie case of contemplated fraud). If the court concludes that the information sought is protected by privilege, the subpoena must be quashed. If the court finds no privilege applies, in order to uphold the subpoena, the court must find both that the evidence is essential to the successful completion of an ongoing investigation or prosecution and that no other feasible alternative exists to obtain the evidence. The new rule of this case is consistent with our previous rulings affirming that a prosecutor's role is to see that justice is done, not merely to prevail in his or her cause. For this reason, the line between disciplinary rules of conduct and the prosecutor's duty to refrain from improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction is not always distinct. Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. at 88, 55 S.Ct. 629. For example, prosecutors have both an ethical duty and a legal duty as part of substantive law to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense. Compare KRPC 3.8(d) (2009 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 564) and Wilkins v. State, 286 Kan. 971, 989, 190 P.3d 957 (2008) (citing Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 [1963]) (withholding of exculpatory evidence by prosecution implicates defendant's constitutional rights, considered prosecutorial misconduct). Similarly, a prosecutor has both an ethical duty and a legal duty as part of substantive law to refrain from offering personal opinions concerning certain matters, including the credibility of a witness and the guilt of the accused. Compare KRPC 3.4(e) (2009 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 552) and State v. Pabst, 268 Kan. at 506, 510, 996 P.2d 321 (court relies upon KRPC 3.4[e], American Bar Association Standards for Criminal Justice [3d ed.1993] to hold prosecutor's comments on witness credibility improper, possibly leading to violation of defendant's right to fair trial). The court's analysis in Pabst knitted together the prosecutor's duty as a representative of the State and the duties imposed under ethics rules: [A]s we have observed, [a prosecutor's expressing a personal opinion on the credibility of a witness] is expressly forbidden by both the KRPC 3.4 and the ABA Standards for Prosecutors, 3-5.8 Commentary, Personal Belief. Here an assistant attorney general from the office of the attorney general criminal litigation division introduced into the case his personal opinion of Pabst's credibility. He ignored his special obligation as a prosecutor to avoid improper personal insinuations. Because he represented the State of Kansas the jury might have been misled into thinking his personal opinions were validated by the weight of the State of Kansas. Such prosecutorial vouching places the prestige of the State behind the prosecutor's personal assurances. 268 Kan. at 510-11, 996 P.2d 321. Our decision today also is consistent with the well-established principle that district courts have the authority, independent of a statutory privilege, to prevent or limit the power of compulsory process when necessary to prevent abuse, harassment, undue burden or expense, to manage litigation, to prevent violation of constitutionally protected interests, and to protect confidential matters. Without exception, our statutes and case law recognize the district court's necessary authority to prevent or limit the power to compel disclosure of information in virtually every aspect of the civil and criminal litigation process. Statutes providing this authority include: K.S.A. 60-226(b)(4), limiting discovery of an attorney's nonprivileged work product materials by requiring the party seeking the materials to establish substantial need and inability to obtain the substantial equivalent by other means without undue hardship; K.S.A. 60-226(c), providing power to issue protective orders in the discovery process to protect a party from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense; K.S.A. 60-245(c)(3)(A)(iv), providing broad power to quash subpoena that subjects a person to undue burden; and K.S.A. 60-245(c)(3)(B)(i), providing that a court may quash or modify a subpoena that requires disclosure of trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information, unless a showing of substantial need is made, and that, if substantial need is shown, the court may impose protective conditions on any disclosure. Under case law, subpoenas are not to be unreasonable or oppressive. See In re Tax Appeal of Collingwood Grain, Inc., 257 Kan. 237, 256, 891 P.2d 422 (1995). Subpoenas in aid of civil or criminal litigation are subject to a stringent relevancy requirement. See State ex rel. Stephan v. Clark, 243 Kan. 561, 568, 759 P.2d 119 (1988). Inquisition subpoenas under K.S.A. 22-3101 are subject to the district court's inherent power to prevent prosecutorial abuse of the judicial process. See State ex rel. Cranford v. Bishop, 230 Kan. 799, 800-01, 640 P.2d 1271 (1982) (judicial inquisition subpoenas under K.S.A. 22-3101[1]); Southwestern Bell Tel. Co. v. Miller, 2 Kan. App.2d 558, 583 P.2d 1042, rev. denied 225 Kan. 845 (1978) (prosecutorial inquisition subpoenas under K.S.A. 22-3101[2]). When an inquisition subpoena under K.S.A. 22-3101(1) intrudes on a constitutionally protected privacy interest, the district court's inherent power to prevent abuse of the judicial process requires the court to balance the State's compelling interest in pursuing criminal investigations, the privacy rights invaded, the State's need for access, protective safeguards to prevent unauthorized disclosure, and other public policy considerations. Alpha Med. Clinic v. Anderson, 280 Kan. 903, 128 P.3d 364 (2006). A district court considering a motion to quash a grand jury subpoena on grounds that it is overly burdensome or intrudes on privacy interests must balance the grand jury's need for the materials against the burden or intrusion. Tiller v. Corrigan, 286 Kan. 30, 182 P.3d 719 (2008). The new rule of this case requiring a motion and approval of the court before a prosecutor can arrange to issue a subpoena for testimony by criminal defense counsel also is consistent with the American Bar Association's inclusion of such a requirement in the 1990 amendment to Rule 3.8 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. See A Legislative History: The Development of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, 1982-2005, pp. 509-10 (2006). Although the ABA had dropped the judicial approval language in 1995, long before Kansas adopted the current provisions of Rule 3.8(e) in 2007 (2009 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 564-65), the decision to omit the language was due solely to discomfort with state court enforcement against federal prosecutors, not to any conclusion that the attorney-client relationship was undeserving of careful, advance judicial review of any subpoena that would interfere with it. Indeed, proponents of the deletion believed the preapproval provision was more properly a procedural matter within the province of the criminal and civil procedural rules, not the ethical rules. A Legislative History: The Development of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct 512. And, finally, the new rule's requirement that prosecutors and district judges employ the KRPC 3.8(e) factors as an overlay on the attorney-client privilege analysis when defense counsel is to be subpoenaed to testify about current or former client confidences in a criminal proceeding is demonstrably workable. The KRPC 3.8(e) factors have been a part of the calculus on issuance and enforcement of such subpoenas in federal courts since 1985, when the Department of Justice adopted internal guidelines in response to growing concerns among the bar over federal prosecutors' use of them. See United States Attorneys' Manual, § 9-13.410 (Sept.1997) (internal supervisory approval mandatory to issue subpoena to attorney for client information, with approval conditioned on Rule 3.8[e] factors); Stern v. United States Dist. Court for Dist. of Mass., 214 F.3d 4, 8-9 (1st Cir. 2000) (tracing history of Model Rule 3.8 subpoena provision, citing United States v. Perry, 857 F.2d 1346, 1347-48 [9th Cir.1988], which cites § 9-2.161[a] of 1985 version of United States Attorneys' Manual). Judicial preapproval for issuance of a subpoena to an attorney for evidence concerning a present or former client also has been a part of the Virginia rules of criminal procedure since 1987. See Va.Code Ann. Sup.Ct. R. Criminal Practice and Procedure, Rule 3A:12(a) 1987 Supp. In 2000, the Virginia Supreme Court amended its ethical rules, specifically deleting from its version of Rule 3.8 the requirement that a prosecutor obtain judicial approval prior to issuing such a subpoena, but the judicial approval requirement in the criminal procedure code remained. See Va.Code Ann. Sup.Ct. R. 3.8, Committee Commentary (provision requiring judicial approval to subpoena attorney deleted because of prevailing case law; local federal district court does not require prior approval).