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Ninth Circuit: Prisoner is Protected by Legal Privilege but Not Marriage Privilege When Writing His Lawyer-Wife
Loaded on June 15, 2007
published in Prison Legal News
June, 2007, page 40
A California state prisoner who was being tried in United States District Court for federal conspiracy, racketeering and murder offenses committed from state prison, and whose wife was his lawyer, was permitted to write to his wife confidentially under his state prison-created ?confidential-legal? privilege, but only for matters related to …
Filed under:
Gang Policies,
Attorney Client,
Evidentiary Ruling,
Witnesses,
Mail,
Mail Regulations,
Legal Mail,
Marriage.
Location:
California.
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More from this issue:
- The Political Economy of Prison and Jail Litigation, by Margo Schlanger
- Florida’s Broward County Jail: Abuse and Misconduct As Usual, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Suicides Plague Wisconsin Jails; Attempted Suicide Suit Settles for $13.1 Million, by Matthew Clarke
- Dr. Yank: Washington Prison Dentist Nearly Kills Patient
- Landmark Settlement Reduces SHU Time, Increases Treatment Of New York Prisoners With Mental Illness
- Maryland Restores Voting Rights to 50,000 Felons
- Missouri Legislature Allows Wrongfully Convicted to Receive Compensation
- Supreme Court: California’s Law Permitting Suspicionless Police Search of Parolees Does Not Violate Fourth Amendment, by Marvin Mentor
- Increasingly Repressive Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Have Doubtful Benefits, by John Dannenberg
- Phoenix, Arizona Sheriff’s Policy Delaying Prisoners’ Elective Abortions Enjoined, by John Dannenberg
- Alaska Jail Settles Alcohol Withdrawal Death Case For $573,000
- Colorado Successfully Pressures FBI To Release DNA Info; Racial Bias Infects DNA Databases, by Gary Hunter
- Guards Convicted of Stealing, Bringing Drugs into Washington State Private Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Disallowing Printed E-Mail Responses To Wisconsin Prisoner’s Web Page Raised Triable Issues of Fact, by John Dannenberg
- BOP Cancels Solicitation of Proposal for Single-Faith Program
- Lifetime Supervision or Lifetime Incarceration for Colorado Sex Offenders?
- Louisiana Prisoner Denied Religious Materials Under “Approved Vendor” Policy Settles Suit for $21, 786.13 in Damages and Fees
- Study: Supermax Prisons Achieve Control While Inflicting Debilitating Side Effects, But Don’t Reduce Recidivism, by John Dannenberg
- California Sheriff Criticized on Injury Non-Treatment After Use of Force
- South Carolina Prisoner Awarded $4,000 For Fall, Broken Ankle
- Human Rights Watch Urges Access to Condoms in U.S. Prisons and Jails
- Private Prison Companies Bilk Florida Taxpayers Out of Millions, by David Reutter
- $30,000 Award in Hawaii Medical Negligence Suit
- Los Angeles County Jail Visitor’s Injury After Scuffle With Deputies Settles For $150,000
- Florida Court Without Jurisdiction to Impose Confinement Condition Sanctions at Sentencing
- City of Detroit Must Record Suspect Confessions; $4 Million Wrongful Incarceration Award
- Excessive Force And Medical Negligence Death In Youngstown, Ohio Arrest Settles For $350,000 From Police, $100,000 From PHS, by John Dannenberg
- U.S. Supreme Court: State Felon’s Deportation Order Reversed Where Underlying Offense Amounted Only to Federal Misdemeanor
- $248,000 Jury Award for Inhumane D.C. Jail Conditions
- Fifth Circuit Remands Texas Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim, Adopts De Minimis Standard, by Michael Rigby
- Harsh Federal Parole Conditions for Federal Sex Offender Upheld
- California Prison Guards Awarded $440 Million Retroactive Pay Increase
- Second Hawaii Sex Assault Case Settled for $25,000
- $2.5 Million Settlement in Schenectady County Strip Search Suit
- California Governor’s Parole Veto Reversed by Federal Court, by John Dannenberg
- New York Jail’s Juvenile Education Suit Returns to District Court
- Ninth Circuit: Prisoner is Protected by Legal Privilege but Not Marriage Privilege When Writing His Lawyer-Wife
- Federal Prisoner’s Criminal Assault Conviction Reversed; Entitled to Raise Self-Defense
- Washington Indigents All Get Experts at Public Expense
- New York Prisoner Beaten By Unofficial Enforcer Awarded $500,000
- News in Brief:
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More from these topics:
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- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Damages, Evidentiary Ruling, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- ICE Settles Suit Over Opening Detainees’ Legal Mail, April 1, 2026. Legal Mail, Attorney Visits, First Amendment, rights, Immigration Detention, Attorney/Client.
- Like Prisoners, Most Jail Detainees Now Banned from Receiving Physical Mail, March 1, 2026. Jail Specific, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail, Censorship, Digital Devices, Private Phone Contractors.
- Mail Went Digital in Alabama Prisons. Families Are Saying Their Mail Isn’t Being Delivered, March 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Legal Mail, First Amendment, rights, Access To Courts, Access to Computers.
- Incarcerated Women Featured in True Crime Media Face Flood of Sexual Harassment, March 1, 2026. Sexual Harassment, Prison Labor, Hygiene Supplies, Mail, TV/Movies.
- Number of Narcan Doses Raises Drug Concerns at New Jersey Prisons, March 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Mail Regulations, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, Feb. 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail, Censorship, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance.
- United States Postal Service Declares Postmarks Could Be Delayed, Feb. 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail, Access To Courts.
- New Hampshire Guard Abuse and Theft Uncovered Through Poaching Investigation, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Legal Mail, Obstruction of Justice.

