Witness Interviews Aren’t Privileged Work Product, Says Calif. Court
Witness statements recorded or taken in writing by attorneys or their representatives aren't privileged work product and, therefore, are open to discovery, a divided California appellate court ruled Thursday. Surprisingly, the justices, including the dissenter, took the opportunity to harshly criticize a 14-year-old appellate ruling out of Sacramento that held just the opposite. The majority called it "cursory" and the dissent said the 1996 holding went "too far."
