Florida Court Upholds Attorney-Client Privilege for Youth in Dependency Proceedings
On June 19, 2013, the Third District Court of Appeals of Florida issued an opinion emphasizing the importance of maintaining an attorney-client relationship in dependency proceedings. The court upheld the attorney-client privilege between R.L.R., a 17-year-old foster youth, and his Attorneys Ad Litem (attorneys appointed to represent the child's interests in a dependency case).
Florida had never before extended the attorney-client privilege to children in dependency proceedings. Yet the appellate court recognized that the attorney's duty to keep any communication with his or her client confidential is essential—it is particularly important for children who may be especially vulnerable and whose future well-being is the subject of the court's decisions. In the absence of a trusting and confidential relationship between the attorney and the child, there may be no other person with whom the child would share information central to his case. The ability to confide in and trust his or her attorney is fundamental to the child's perception of the fairness of the dependency proceedings, and the legal process in general.
R.L.R. revealed his contact information to his attorneys, but expressly requested that they not divulge the information to any third party. When asked to disclose the confidential information, R.L.R.'s attorneys argued that the attorney-client privilege applied equally to minors and to dependency proceedings, and consequently they were forbidden to disclose their client's whereabouts under Florida law and the rules of professional conduct.
The Florida Court of Appeals agreed, holding that the same duties of confidentiality and loyalty that regulate all attorneys apply to minor clients in dependency proceedings, and that none of the exceptions to confidentiality existed in R.L.R.'s case that merited disclosure of the information. The Court also refused to create a "dependency exception" or other child-specific exceptions to the attorney-client privilege, acknowledging that R.L.R. would be "more likely to seek legal advice and be more willing to work towards a successful outcome" if he could trust his attorneys.
Juvenile Law Center has consistently argued for children to receive the same benefits of counsel as their adult counterparts, including having a client-directed relationship. Children must understand that they have an advocate that they can confide in—and that the lawyer won't breach confidentiality in the lawyer-client relationship. With this holding, Florida joins many states, legislatures, and advocacy organizations across the country that have affirmed that children involved in dependency proceedings have the same right to effective counsel as adult clients, a right that includes the traditional attorney-client duties of loyalty, confidentiality, and the protection of the attorney-client privilege.
Juvenile Law Center participated as amicus curiae in support of R.L.R. before the Florida Court of Appeals along with the National Association of Counsel for Children and the Florida Association of Counsel for Children. Congratulations to Angela C. Vigil and Robert H. Moore, R.L.R.'s attorneys ad litem, who argued the case before the appellate court.