SECTIONS 911-920 - California Statutes

EVIDENCE CODE

SECTION 911-920

911. Except as otherwise provided by statute:
(a) No person has a privilege to refuse to be a witness.
(b) No person has a privilege to refuse to disclose any matter or
to refuse to produce any writing, object, or other thing.
(c) No person has a privilege that another shall not be a witness
or shall not disclose any matter or shall not produce any writing,
object, or other thing.

912. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the right of
any person to claim a privilege provided by Section 954
(lawyer-client privilege), 980 (privilege for confidential marital
communications), 994 (physician-patient privilege), 1014
(psychotherapist-patient privilege), 1033 (privilege of penitent),
1034 (privilege of clergyman), 1035.8 (sexual assault
counselor-victim privilege), or 1037.5 (domestic violence
counselor-victim privilege) is waived with respect to a communication
protected by the privilege if any holder of the privilege, without
coercion, has disclosed a significant part of the communication or
has consented to disclosure made by anyone. Consent to disclosure is
manifested by any statement or other conduct of the holder of the
privilege indicating consent to the disclosure, including failure to
claim the privilege in any proceeding in which the holder has the
legal standing and opportunity to claim the privilege.
(b) Where two or more persons are joint holders of a privilege
provided by Section 954 (lawyer-client privilege), 994
(physician-patient privilege), 1014 (psychotherapist-patient
privilege), 1035.8 (sexual assault counselor-victim privilege), or
1037.5 (domestic violence counselor-victim privilege), a waiver of
the right of a particular joint holder of the privilege to claim the
privilege does not affect the right of another joint holder to claim
the privilege. In the case of the privilege provided by Section 980
(privilege for confidential marital communications), a waiver of the
right of one spouse to claim the privilege does not affect the right
of the other spouse to claim the privilege.
(c) A disclosure that is itself privileged is not a waiver of any
privilege.
(d) A disclosure in confidence of a communication that is
protected by a privilege provided by Section 954 (lawyer-client
privilege), 994 (physician-patient privilege), 1014
(psychotherapist-patient privilege), 1035.8 (sexual assault
counselor-victim privilege), or 1037.5 (domestic violence
counselor-victim privilege), when disclosure is reasonably necessary
for the accomplishment of the purpose for which the lawyer,
physician, psychotherapist, sexual assault counselor, or domestic
violence counselor was consulted, is not a waiver of the privilege.

913. (a) If in the instant proceeding or on a prior occasion a
privilege is or was exercised not to testify with respect to any
matter, or to refuse to disclose or to prevent another from
disclosing any matter, neither the presiding officer nor counsel may
comment thereon, no presumption shall arise because of the exercise
of the privilege, and the trier of fact may not draw any inference
therefrom as to the credibility of the witness or as to any matter at
issue in the proceeding.
(b) The court, at the request of a party who may be adversely
affected because an unfavorable inference may be drawn by the jury
because a privilege has been exercised, shall instruct the jury that
no presumption arises because of the exercise of the privilege and
that the jury may not draw any inference therefrom as to the
credibility of the witness or as to any matter at issue in the
proceeding.

914. (a) The presiding officer shall determine a claim of privilege
in any proceeding in the same manner as a court determines such a
claim under Article 2 (commencing with Section 400) of Chapter 4 of
Division 3.
(b) No person may be held in contempt for failure to disclose
information claimed to be privileged unless he has failed to comply
with an order of a court that he disclose such information. This
subdivision does not apply to any governmental agency that has
constitutional contempt power, nor does it apply to hearings and
investigations of the Industrial Accident Commission, nor does it
impliedly repeal Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9400) of Part 1
of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government Code. If no other
statutory procedure is applicable, the procedure prescribed by
Section 1991 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall be followed in
seeking an order of a court that the person disclose the information
claimed to be privileged.

915. (a) Subject to subdivision (b), the presiding officer may not
require disclosure of information claimed to be privileged under this
division or attorney work product under subdivision (a) of Section
2018.030 of the Code of Civil Procedure in order to rule on the claim
of privilege; provided, however, that in any hearing conducted
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1524 of the Penal Code in
which a claim of privilege is made and the court determines that
there is no other feasible means to rule on the validity of the claim
other than to require disclosure, the court shall proceed in
accordance with subdivision (b).
(b) When a court is ruling on a claim of privilege under Article 9
(commencing with Section 1040) of Chapter 4 (official information
and identity of informer) or under Section 1060 (trade secret) or
under subdivision (b) of Section 2018.030 of the Code of Civil
Procedure (attorney work product) and is unable to do so without
requiring disclosure of the information claimed to be privileged, the
court may require the person from whom disclosure is sought or the
person authorized to claim the privilege, or both, to disclose the
information in chambers out of the presence and hearing of all
persons except the person authorized to claim the privilege and any
other persons as the person authorized to claim the privilege is
willing to have present. If the judge determines that the information
is privileged, neither the judge nor any other person may ever
disclose, without the consent of a person authorized to permit
disclosure, what was disclosed in the course of the proceedings in
chambers.

916. (a) The presiding officer, on his own motion or on the motion
of any party, shall exclude information that is subject to a claim of
privilege under this division if:
(1) The person from whom the information is sought is not a person
authorized to claim the privilege; and
(2) There is no party to the proceeding who is a person authorized
to claim the privilege.
(b) The presiding officer may not exclude information under this
section if:
(1) He is otherwise instructed by a person authorized to permit
disclosure; or
(2) The proponent of the evidence establishes that there is no
person authorized to claim the privilege in existence.

917. (a) If a privilege is claimed on the ground that the matter
sought to be disclosed is a communication made in confidence in the
course of the lawyer-client, physician-patient,
psychotherapist-patient, clergy-penitent, husband-wife, sexual
assault counselor-victim, or domestic violence counselor-victim
relationship, the communication is presumed to have been made in
confidence and the opponent of the claim of privilege has the burden
of proof to establish that the communication was not confidential.
(b) A communication between persons in a relationship listed in
subdivision (a) does not lose its privileged character for the sole
reason that it is communicated by electronic means or because persons
involved in the delivery, facilitation, or storage of electronic
communication may have access to the content of the communication.
(c) For purposes of this section, "electronic" has the same
meaning provided in Section 1633.2 of the Civil Code.

918. A party may predicate error on a ruling disallowing a claim of
privilege only if he is the holder of the privilege, except that a
party may predicate error on a ruling disallowing a claim of
privilege by his spouse under Section 970 or 971.

919. (a) Evidence of a statement or other disclosure of privileged
information is inadmissible against a holder of the privilege if:
(1) A person authorized to claim the privilege claimed it but
nevertheless disclosure erroneously was required to be made; or
(2) The presiding officer did not exclude the privileged
information as required by Section 916.
(b) If a person authorized to claim the privilege claimed it,
whether in the same or a prior proceeding, but nevertheless
disclosure erroneously was required by the presiding officer to be
made, neither the failure to refuse to disclose nor the failure to
seek review of the order of the presiding officer requiring
disclosure indicates consent to the disclosure or constitutes a
waiver and, under these circumstances, the disclosure is one made
under coercion.

920. Nothing in this division shall be construed to repeal by
implication any other statute relating to privileges.