An evidentiary privilege is a rule of evidence that allows the holder of the privilege to refuse to provide evidence about a certain subject or to bar such evidence from being disclosed or used in a judicial or other proceeding.
One well known privilege is the solicitor-client privilege

Solicitor-client privilege

In common law jurisdictions, legal professional privilege protects all communications between a professional legal adviser and his or her clients from being disclosed without the permission of the client...

, referred to as the attorney-client privilege

Attorney-client privilege

Attorney–client privilege is a legal concept that protects certain communications between a client and his or her attorney and keeps those communications confidential....

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and as the legal professional privilege in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. This protects confidential communications between a client and his legal adviser for the dominant purpose of legal advice. The rationale is that clients ought to be able to communicate freely with their lawyers, in order to facilitate the proper functioning of the legal system.

Other common forms include privilege against self-incrimination

Self-incrimination

Self-incrimination is the act of accusing oneself of a crime for which a person can then be prosecuted. Self-incrimination can occur either directly or indirectly: directly, by means of interrogation where information of a self-incriminatory nature is disclosed; indirectly, when information of a...

 (in other proceedings), without prejudice privilege (protecting communications made in the course of negotiations to settle a legal dispute), public interest privilege

Public interest privilege

Under common law, public-interest privilege prevents the compulsory disclosure of documents or information which is against the public interest. There is a balance between public interests- if the public interest in secrecy is greater than the public interest in disclosure, it will be privileged...

 (formerly Crown privilege, protecting documents for which secrecy is necessary for the proper functioning of government), marital privilege, medical professional privilege

Physician-patient privilege

Physician–patient privilege is a legal concept, related to medical confidentiality, that protects communications between a patient and his or her doctor from being used against the patient in court. It is a part of the rules of evidence in many common law jurisdictions...

, and clergy-penitent privilege

Priest-penitent privilege

The priest–penitent privilege, also known as the clergy privilege, clergy–penitent privilege, confessional privilege, and ecclesiastical privilege, is an application of the principle of privileged communication that protects the contents of communications between a member of the clergy and a...

.

The effect of the privilege is usually a right on the part of a party to a case, allowing him to prevent evidence from being introduced in the form of testimony from the person to whom the privilege runs. For example, a person can generally prevent his attorney from testifying about the legal relationship between attorney and client, even if the attorney were willing to do so. In a few instances, such as the marital privilege, the privilege is a right held by the potential witness. Thus, if a wife wishes to testify against her husband, she may do so even if he opposes this testimony; however, the wife has the privilege of refusing to testify even if the husband wishes her to do so.

External links

• Coburn–Ensign Privilege Claims

See also

• Psychotherapist-patient privilege
  Jaffee v. Redmond
  In Jaffee v. Redmond, , the Supreme Court of the United States created a psychotherapist-patient privilege in the Federal Rules of Evidence.-Facts:...
  
  
• Accountant-client privilege
  Accountant-client privilege
  Accountant–client privilege is a confidentiality privilege, or more precisely, a group of privileges, available in American federal and state law. Accountant–client privileges may be classified in two categories: evidentiary privileges and non-evidentiary privileges.An evidentiary privilege is one...
  
  
• Reporters' privilege
  Reporters' Privilege
  Reporters' privilege in the United States, is a "reporter's protection under constitutional or statutory law, from being compelled to testify about confidential information or sources"...
  
  
• Deliberative process privilege
  Deliberative process privilege
  Deliberative process privilege is the common-law principle that the internal processes of the executive branch of a government are immune from normal disclosure or discovery in civil litigations, Freedom of Information Act requests, etc....
  
  
• Priest-penitent privilege
  Priest-penitent privilege
  The priest–penitent privilege, also known as the clergy privilege, clergy–penitent privilege, confessional privilege, and ecclesiastical privilege, is an application of the principle of privileged communication that protects the contents of communications between a member of the clergy and a...
  
  
• Shield law
  Shield law
  A shield law or reporters' privilege is legislation designed to provide a news reporter with the right to refuse to testify as to information and/or sources of information obtained during the news gathering and dissemination process.-Definition:...
  
  
• State Secrets Privilege
  State Secrets Privilege
  The state secrets privilege is an evidentiary rule created by United States legal precedent. Application of the privilege results in exclusion of evidence from a legal case based solely on affidavits submitted by the government stating that court proceedings might disclose sensitive information...
  
  
  • Classified Information Procedures Act
    Classified Information Procedures Act
    The Classified Information Procedures Act or , is codified as the third appendix to Title18 of the U.S. Code, the title concerning crimes and criminal procedures. The U.S. Code citation is .-Legislative Revision History:...
    
    
  • Silent witness rule
    Silent witness rule
    The silent witness rule is the use of 'substitutions' when referring to sensitive information in the United States open courtroom jury trial system. The phrase was first used in US v. Zettl, in 1987. An example of a substitution method is the use of code-words on a 'key card', to which witnesses...
    
    
• Public Interest Immunity
  Public Interest Immunity
  Public-interest immunity is a principle of English common law under which the English courts can grant a court order allowing one litigant to refrain from disclosing evidence to the other litigants where disclosure would be damaging to the public interest...
  
  
• Admissible evidence
  Admissible evidence
  Admissible evidence, in a court of law, is any testimonial, documentary, or tangible evidence that may be introduced to a factfinder—usually a judge or jury—in order to establish or to bolster a point put forth by a party to the proceeding...
  
  
• Right to silence
  Right to silence
  The right to remain silent is a legal right of any person. This right is recognized, explicitly or by convention, in many of the world's legal systems....
  
  
• Subpoena duces tecum
  Subpoena duces tecum
  A subpoena duces tecum is a court summons ordering a named party to appear before the court and produce documents or other tangible evidence for use at a hearing or trial....