State v. Rabin

495 So. 2d 257, 11 Fla. L. Weekly 2074
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedSeptember 30, 1986
Docket86-28, 85-2898
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 495 So. 2d 257 (State v. Rabin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Rabin, 495 So. 2d 257, 11 Fla. L. Weekly 2074 (Fla. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

495 So.2d 257 (1986)

The STATE of Florida, Petitioner/Respondent,
v.
Samuel J. RABIN, Jr., et al., Respondents/Petitioners.

Nos. 86-28, 85-2898.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

September 30, 1986.

*258 Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Michael J. Neimand, Miami, for petitioner/respondent.

Weiner, Robbins, Tunkey & Ross and Peter Raben, Miami, for respondents/petitioners.

Before BASKIN, FERGUSON and JORGENSON, JJ.

JORGENSON, Judge.

The parties to this cause filed petitions for writ of certiorari seeking review of an order of the circuit court which denied in part and granted in part Rabin's motion to quash a subpoena duces tecum. For the following reasons, we grant in part the relief sought by the State of Florida and deny the relief sought by Rabin and Diaz.

This cause arises from Rabin's representation of a Richard Caride in a criminal prosecution in Dade County. Caride and one Carlos Simon were charged with murder. In the course of his representation of Caride, Rabin met with Diaz, Caride's former wife. The purpose of the meeting was to enable Rabin to gather information about Caride's case, although Diaz also had been attempting to contact Rabin to discuss Caride's case. At or near the outset of the meeting, Diaz asked Rabin whether their conversation would be "repeated," and Rabin assured her that it would be kept confidential. At the end of their conversation, Rabin advised Diaz that she would probably need counsel but that, because of a possible conflict of interest, he could not represent her.

Caride subsequently pled guilty and became a witness for the prosecution in Simon's case. Caride testified at Simon's trial that he had told Diaz certain facts pertinent to the homicide. In her testimony at trial, Diaz denied that she had been told these facts. Simon was acquitted. Thereafter, the state attorney's office issued a subpoena duces tecum upon Rabin for "[a]ny and all notes or documents related to the conversation you [Rabin] had with witness Fara Diaz as to her knowledge of the ... homicide." Rabin moved to quash the subpoena on the grounds that the matters sought to be produced were protected by the attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine. Diaz's motion to intervene as a party in interest was granted.

A hearing was held on Rabin's motion to quash. At the hearing, Caride waived any and all privileges that he had with respect to the conversation between Rabin and Diaz. After the taking of testimony, arguments of counsel, and presentation of memoranda of law, the trial court entered the order under review. The court found that (1) no attorney-client relationship was established between Rabin and Diaz, (2) Diaz *259 could not assert the work-product privilege, and (3) the work-product privilege, as asserted by Rabin, "is secondary in this criminal proceeding." The order provides as follows:

Accordingly [Rabin's] Motion to Quash the Subpoena Duces Tecum ... is hereby denied. However, Petitioner Rabin is commanded to produce only existing documents related to the conversation between himself and the witness, Fara Diaz, as it relates to her knowledge of the ... homicide. He is not required to produce his personal notes containing his opinions, theories, or conclusions concerning these conversations. Neither is he required to respond to questioning regarding the conversations that took place between himself and the witness Diaz.
* * * * * *
Should Petitioner Rabin have in his possession any documents relating to these conversations which he questions should be produced pursuant to this Order, this Court instructs [Rabin] to produce the documents for an in-camera inspection by this Court at which time this Court will excise from these documents any matter which might be considered opinions, theories, or conclusions of [Rabin] which remain privileged.

In its petition, the state contends that the work-product doctrine is inapplicable here because the case for which the subpoenaed matters were generated is now closed and disclosure is being sought in the investigation of a witness to the prior litigation, not of the defendant. In the petition filed by Rabin and Diaz, Rabin contends that the trial court erred in finding the work-product doctrine to be "secondary" in this criminal proceeding, and Diaz contends that her statements are protected by the attorney-client privilege.[1]

ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE

The trial court determined that Diaz's conversation with Rabin was not protected by the attorney-client privilege because no attorney-client relationship existed between Rabin and Diaz. We cannot conclude that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law in this regard.

The attorney-client privilege is designed to encourage clients to disclose fully to counsel all pertinent facts, whether favorable or unfavorable, so that counsel can provide competent and effective legal representation. Fisher v. United States, 425 U.S. 391, 403, 96 S.Ct. 1569, 1577, 48 L.Ed.2d 39, 51 (1976); In re Murphy, 560 F.2d 326, 337 (8th Cir.1977); Hoyas v. State, 456 So.2d 1225, 1228 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). The privilege is well established in the common law, Hoyas, 456 So.2d at 1228, and has been codified in section 90.502, Florida Statutes (1985). Section 90.502 provides, in relevant part,

90.502 Lawyer-client privilege. —
(1) For purposes of this section:
(a) A "lawyer" is a person authorized, or reasonably believed by the client to be authorized, to practice law in any state or nation.
(b) A "client" is any person, public officer, corporation, association, or other organization or entity, either public or private, who consults a lawyer with the purpose of obtaining legal services or who is rendered legal services by a lawyer.
(c) A communication between lawyer and client is "confidential" if it is not intended to be disclosed to third persons other than:
1. Those to whom disclosure is in furtherance of the rendition of legal services to the client.
2. Those reasonably necessary for the transmission of the communication.
(2) A client has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent any other person from disclosing, the contents of confidential communications when such other person *260 learned of the communications because they were made in the rendition of legal services to the client.
(3) The privilege may be claimed by:
(a) The client.
* * * * * *
(e) The lawyer, but only on behalf of the client. The lawyer's authority to claim the privilege is presumed in the absence of contrary evidence.

Thus, not all confidential communications between an attorney and others are protected under the attorney-client privilege. The privilege protects only those confidential communications which are between an attorney and a "client." A person obtains the status of a "client" by consulting an attorney for the purpose of obtaining legal advice. § 90.502(1)(b), Fla. Stat. (1985); Marshall v. Marshall, 282 S.C. 534, 320 S.E.2d 44, 47 (Ct.App. 1984); see In re Colocotronis Tanker Securities Litigation, 449 F. Supp.

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Bluebook (online)
495 So. 2d 257, 11 Fla. L. Weekly 2074, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-rabin-fladistctapp-1986.