Solosky v. The Queen
Encyclopedia
Solosky v. The Queen [1980] 1 S.C.R. 821 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada
decision on solicitor-client privilege
. The Court identified solicitor-client privilege as more than just a rule of evidence but as a fundamental right to all individuals.
. All mail was subject to screening by officers of the prison under the Penitentary Act. Solosky sought an application to prevent the correspondence with his lawyer under solicitor-client privilege.
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The criteria to gain the protection of solicitor-client privilege requires "(i) a communication between solicitor and client; (ii) which entails the seeking or giving of legal advice; and (iii) which is intended to be confidential by the parties" (p. 834)
Dickson, however, stated that privilege did not apply where legal advice is not sought or offered, where it is not intended to be confidential, and where its purpose is to further unlawful conduct. (p. 835)
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
decision on 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...
. The Court identified solicitor-client privilege as more than just a rule of evidence but as a fundamental right to all individuals.
Background
Billy Solosky was an inmate at the Millhaven corrections instituteMillhaven Institution
Millhaven Institution is a maximum security prison located in Bath, Ontario. Approximately 400 inmates are incarcerated at Millhaven. Opened in 1971, Millhaven was originally built to replace the area's other maximum security prison . A riot at Kingston Penitentiary forced Millhaven to open...
. All mail was subject to screening by officers of the prison under the Penitentary Act. Solosky sought an application to prevent the correspondence with his lawyer under solicitor-client privilege.
Reasons of the court
Justice Dickson, writing for the majority, held that Solosky had a right to privilege in all of his correspondence between him and his lawyer. Though privilege has its origins as an evidentiary rule to protect parties in a litigation, it has become available to all clients seeking legal adviceLegal advice
In the common law, legal advice is the giving of a formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law by an officer of the court , ordinarily in exchange for financial or other tangible compensation...
.
The criteria to gain the protection of solicitor-client privilege requires "(i) a communication between solicitor and client; (ii) which entails the seeking or giving of legal advice; and (iii) which is intended to be confidential by the parties" (p. 834)
Dickson, however, stated that privilege did not apply where legal advice is not sought or offered, where it is not intended to be confidential, and where its purpose is to further unlawful conduct. (p. 835)