HB 354: Evidence; exclude certain communications made between attorney and client when client is in a penal institution

Georgia law already protects communications between attorneys and their clients from being used as evidence in court, under the state's attorney-client privilege rule (O.C.G.A. § 24-5-501). This bill adds language clarifying that the privilege also covers telephonic or electronic communications, such as phone calls or messages, when the client is being held in a penal institution, meaning a jail, prison, or other correctional facility as defined elsewhere in Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-56). The change updates one paragraph of the existing privilege statute to specifically name these remote forms of communication. The bill does not create a new privilege; it extends the existing attorney-client protection to cover calls and electronic messages made while a client is incarcerated, which historically has been an area where privilege questions could arise because such communications often occur over jail phone systems or messaging platforms.

• Amends Georgia's attorney-client privilege law (O.C.G.A. § 24-5-501) to explicitly cover phone calls and electronic communications with an incarcerated client.
• Ties the definition of a covered facility to the existing definition of a penal institution found in Georgia's criminal code (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-56).
• Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this change.

People held in Georgia jails, prisons, or other penal institutions and their defense attorneys, as well as prosecutors and courts that handle disputes over whether jailhouse phone calls or electronic messages can be used as evidence.

Incarcerated people often can only reach their lawyers by phone or electronic messaging systems run by the jail or prison. Clarifying that these communications are privileged could affect whether prosecutors can use recordings of attorney-client calls or messages as evidence in criminal cases.

• Section 1 revises paragraph (a)(2) of O.C.G.A. § 24-5-501 to add telephonic and electronic communications with a client held in a penal institution to the list of privileged attorney-client communications.
• Section 1 cross-references O.C.G.A. § 16-10-56 for the definition of a penal institution.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting state laws.

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
• jail phone calls
• evidence law
• incarceration