4 Legal English Podcast | Episode 031
On today's docket, we will discuss a case that just had oral arguments at the Supreme Court of the United States. The name of the case is In Re Grand Jury. It is quite unusual for a case to make it to the Supreme Court and the petitioner remain anonymous. The case is about attorney-client privilege and what communication(such as documents) should remain confidential and what is discoverable and needs to be released to the opposing side in a lawsuit. The crux of the argument is to replace the 'primary purpose test' with the 'significant purpose test'. We will also discuss the oral argument process at the supreme court.
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In Re Grand Jury
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Legal Issue
The legal issue of the case is to what is the correct test the court should apply when determining if communication is covered under the attorney-client privilege or not.
The Petitioner is asking to reverse the 9th Circuit Court decision and adopt the 'significant purpose test' (instead of the primary purpose test). On this issue, there is a circuit-split (i.e., some circuits are applying a different test then other circuits. This is a common reason for the Supreme Court to accept a case, in order to resolve this circuit split.)
Lexicon Words
- bona fide
- disclose / disclosure
- good faith
- grand jury
- In Re
- legitimate
- Oral Arguments
- privilege
- privileged communications
- proponent
- redact / redactions
Links & Resources
Some of the sources used for this episode, as well as other links that may be helpful.
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4 Legal English Podcast
What do you think? Which side has the better argument? How does attorney-client communication work in your jurisdiction?
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