Green & Shinee v. Superior Court (April 16, 2001)
* court: California Appellate
* public agency: Los Angeles County
* plaintiffs' job classes: Law firm of Green & Shinee (an LDF
panel firm)
* trial court's decision: against plaintiffs
* appellate court decision: against plaintiffs
* issue area: attorney-client privilege, internal affairs
statements
Green & Shinee Facts
*
During the evening of January 19, 1999, four off-duty Los Angeles
County deputies were harassed by a patron at a restaurant in Lynwood.
The patron punched them; the deputies failed to restrain him;
the patron fled.
*
The restaurant called other deputies to respond.
The four off-duty deputies were ordered to write a report on
the incident. They did not do so.
*
The four later wrote reports and gave them to their attorney.
*
The DA’s office obtained a search warrant for these reports.
The law firm pursuant to Penal Code section 1542 turned them
over to a special master.
*
The trial court held a hearing concerning releasing the reports.
The trial court concluded that the reports were public records
and so had to be turned over.
* The law firm appealed; the appellate court
stated that it would treat the appeal as a petition for writ of
mandate and upheld the trial court.
Analysis of the Appellate Court's Green & Shinee Decision
*
Green & Shinee argued that the reports were protected by the
attorney-client privilege.
* The appellate court disagreed because (1) the
reports had not been prepared for the attorney and (2) the reports
were public records. “The
attorney-client privilege does not embrace matters otherwise
unprivileged merely because the client has communicated those matters
to his attorney.”
