United States v. Hatcher
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
323 F.3d 666 (2003)
Clarence Burnett organized jewelry-store robberies and fenced stolen jewels to pawnshop owners Angelo and Joseph Porrello; Burnett and coconspirators later testified against the Porrellos and a third coconspirator, Michael Hatcher (defendants), in exchange for reduced sentences. The defendants sought recorded phone calls the cooperating coconspirators made to their attorneys while incarcerated, arguing the recording waived any privilege. The trial court refused to order production, ruling the calls privileged, and the defendants appealed.
Whether the attorney-client privilege protects a client's conversation with an attorney when the client knows the conversation is being recorded by a third party, such as a prison telephone system.