Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2008

A bill to provide appropriate protection to attorney-client privileged communications and attorney work product.

6/26/2008--Introduced.
Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2008 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any U.S. agent or attorney, in any federal investigation or criminal or civil enforcement matter, including any form of administrative proceeding or adjudication, from:
(1) demanding or requesting that an organization, or a current or former employee or agent of such organization, waive the protections of the attorney-client privilege or attorney work product doctrine;
(2) offering to reward or actually rewarding an organization, or current or former employee or agent, for waiving such protections; or
(3) threatening adverse treatment or penalizing an organization, or current or former employee or agent, for declining to waive those protections. Prohibits a U.S. agent or attorney in any federal investigation or criminal or civil enforcement matter, including any form of administrative proceeding or adjudication, from considering specified conduct in:
(1) making a civil or criminal charging or enforcement decision relating to an organization, or one of its current or former employees or agents; or
(2) determining whether an organization, or a current or former employee or agent, is cooperating with the government. Numbers among the actions a U.S. agent or attorney may not use as a charging decision condition or a cooperation-determining factor:
(1) any valid assertion of the protection of the attorney-client privilege or attorney work product doctrine;
(2) the provision of counsel to, or contribution to the legal defense fees or expenses of, a current or former employee or agent of an organization;
(3) entry into, or existence of, a valid joint-defense, information-sharing, or common-interest agreement between an organization and a current or former employee or agent, or among its current or former employees;
(4) the sharing of relevant information in anticipation of or in response to an investigation or enforcement matter between an organization and a current or former employee or agent, or among its current or former employees, unless shuch sharing is itself an offense; or
(5) the failure to terminate the employment or affiliation of or otherwise sanction any employee or agent of the organization because of the employee's or agent's decision to exercise personal constitutional rights or other legal protections in response to a government request. Prohibits a U.S. agent or attorney from demanding or requesting that an organization or an affiliated person not take any such action.


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Sponsor

• Sen. Arlen Specter [R, PA]
• and 13 Co-Sponsors
  • Sen. Joseph Biden [D, DE]
  • Sen. Thomas Carper [D, DE]
  • Sen. Thad Cochran [R, MS]
  • Sen. John Cornyn [R, TX]
  • Sen. Elizabeth Dole [R, NC]
  • Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D, CA]
  • Sen. Lindsey Graham [R, SC]
  • Sen. Tim Johnson [D, SD]
  • Sen. John Kerry [D, MA]
  • Sen. Mary Landrieu [D, LA]
  • Sen. Claire McCaskill [D, MO]
  • Sen. Mark Pryor [D, AR]
  • Sen. Jim Webb [D, VA]
  close

Committees

• Senate Judiciary

Amendments

This bill has no amendments.

Amendments to S.3217

Number	Status	Purpose

Bill Status

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Introduced		Voted on by Senate		Voted on by House		Considered By President		Bill Becomes Law
June 26, 2008

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All Bill Actions

• Jun 26, 2008: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
• Jun 26, 2008: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6294-6295)
• Introduced on Jun 26, 2008.

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Blog Coverage

September 14, 2008 New DOJ Guidelines for Corporate Prosecutions in Response to KPMG Case

As a result, legislation like S. 3217 and HR 3013, the “Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act,” is urgently needed to permanently solve the problem of government-coerced waiver. The new Justice Department policy also does nothing to ...

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Source: The Plea Bargaining Blog

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September 01, 2008 Aclu Applauds Doj Revision Of Right To Counsel Policy

In order to guarantee a clear and consistent application of this important legal principle, the ACLU urges senators to pass the Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2008 (S. 3217) to permanently protect the right to counsel. ...

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Source: Politics - Sharpy News

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July 07, 2008 Cornyn: Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act Will Safeguard A ...

John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement after joining a bipartisan coalition of 11 other Senators to introduce the Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2008, (S.3217) or ACPPA, ...

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Source: United States Senator John Cornyn, Texas

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