State of Arizona Ex Rel Adel v. Hon. Adleman

Summary

The court held that a defendant asserting attorney-client privilege over jail communications must make a prima facie showing for each contested communication, although communications sharing a common nature and purpose may be grouped. Because the trial court improperly placed the burden on the State and relied on the communications' content rather than their circumstances, the court vacated the privilege ruling, reversed the intermediate appellate decision, and remanded for a new privilege determination. The court also directed consideration of whether jail policies during the pandemic effectively denied access to confidential attorney communications.