NH High Court to hear open meetings case addressing attorney-client privilege
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December 14, 2011
Concord, NH The New Hampshire Supreme Court will soon hear the appeal in an open meetings case which will decide if material discussed in an open meeting can later be exempted from minutes under the attorney client privilege exemption. The suit filed by the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire appeals a decision by Merrimack Superior Court Judge Richard McNamara, who held that the redaction of the meeting minutes fell within the law. The lawsuit centers on a public meeting in May 2010 where the Local Government Center (LGC) met in an open meeting and proceeded to discuss "strategic planning." At the meeting in question the LGC received legal advice from its attorneys, information which the LGC argues would normally be disclosed only in a closed executive session and is exempt from the law. No one was in attendance at the meeting and so the LGC did not worry about convening a closed session. The Unions lawsuit claims, "The LGC waived its claim of attorney-client privilege when it obtained the advice of counsel in an open, public meeting. There can be no reasonable expectation of privacy where a party's attorney is speaking in a public meeting."[1]
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Federal courts:
First Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of New Hampshire • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of New Hampshire
State courts:
New Hampshire Supreme Court • New Hampshire Superior Courts • New Hampshire Circuit Courts • New Hampshire Probate Courts • New Hampshire District Court • New Hampshire Family Division
State resources:
Courts in New Hampshire • New Hampshire judicial elections • Judicial selection in New Hampshire
