HB354: HB354 Evidence; exclude certain communications made between attorney and client when client is in a penal institution

Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 24-5-501), communications between an attorney and client are generally privileged, meaning they can't be used as evidence in court. This bill clarifies that this privilege specifically covers telephonic and electronic communications made with a client while that client is held in a penal institution, such as a jail or prison. The bill defines a penal institution by pointing to the definition already used in Georgia's escape statute (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-56). By adding this language directly to the attorney-client privilege statute, the bill removes ambiguity about whether phone calls or electronic messages between an incarcerated client and their lawyer are protected the same way as in-person conversations. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not state a delayed effective date, so it would take effect once signed into law.

• Amends O.C.G.A. § 24-5-501(a)(2) to specify that attorney-client privilege covers telephonic and electronic communications with a client who is incarcerated.
• Ties the definition of penal institution to the one already used in Georgia's escape law (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-56), avoiding creation of a new separate definition.
• Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this change, a standard housekeeping step in Georgia legislation.

People currently held in Georgia jails or prisons who communicate with their attorneys by phone or electronic means, the defense attorneys who represent them, and prosecutors or courts that handle evidence involving incarcerated clients' communications.

Incarcerated people often can only reach their lawyers by phone or electronic message rather than in person. By clearly extending privilege to those communications, the bill would make it harder for prosecutors to introduce jailhouse phone or electronic exchanges between a defendant and their attorney as evidence in court.

• Section 1 revises paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 24-5-501 to add telephonic and electronic communications to the list of privileged attorney-client exchanges.
• Section 1 specifies this protection applies when the client is held in a penal institution as defined by O.C.G.A. § 16-10-56.
• Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with the Act.

1. 2025-02-12House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-11House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-10House Hopper (House)

• Esther Panitch (D, HD-051)Primary sponsor
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
• Shea Roberts (D, HD-052)

• attorney-client privilege
• criminal justice
• evidence law
• incarceration
• legal rights