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    FAQ: Colorado Criminal Law – Understanding the Law Regarding Privileges – Husband-Wife, Attorney-Client – Doctor – Patient – Priest -Penitent, Accountants and the Like

    What follows are the main parts of Colorado’s “privilege” statute or law.  I have not analyzed every privilege but I have labeled them so that you can find the one that applies to your situation specifically.  In the future I will provide a more thorough analysis of the major provisions to assist in understanding the various privileges.

    § 13-90-107. Who may not testify without consent

    (1) There are particular relations in which it is the policy of the law to encourage confidence and to preserve it inviolate; therefore, a person shall not be examined as a witness in the following cases:

    HMS – Paragraph (1) explains the meaning of the privilege – certain witnesses cannot be called against certain defendants.  The statute helps clarify each of those privileges.

    Martial Privilege and Confidentiality in Colorado

    (a)(I) Except as otherwise provided in section 14-13-310(4), C.R.S., a husband shall not be examined for or against his wife without her consent nor a wife for or against her husband without his consent; nor during the marriage or afterward shall either be examined without the consent of the other as to any communications made by one to the other during the marriage;

    …..but this exception does not apply to a civil action or proceeding by one against the other, a criminal action or proceeding for a crime committed by one against the other, or a criminal action or proceeding against one or both spouses when the alleged offense occurred prior to the date of the parties’ marriage. However, this exception shall not attach if the otherwise privileged information is communicated after the marriage.

    (II) The privilege described in this paragraph (a) does not apply to class 1, 2, or 3 felonies as described in section 18-1.3-401(1)(a)(IV) and (1)(a)(V), C.R.S. In this instance, during the marriage or afterward, a husband shall not be examined for or against his wife as to any communications intended to be made in confidence and made by one to the other during the marriage without his consent, and a wife shall not be examined for or against her husband as to any communications intended to be made in confidence and made by one to the other without her consent.

    (III) Communications between a husband and wife are not privileged pursuant to this paragraph (a) if such communications are made for the purpose of aiding the commission of a future crime or of a present continuing crime.

    (IV) The burden of proving the existence of a marriage for the purposes of this paragraph (a) shall be on the party asserting the claim.

    (V) Notice of the assertion of the marital privilege shall be given as soon as practicable but not less than ten days prior to assertion at any hearing.

    Attorney Client Privilege and Confidentiality in Colorado

    (b) An attorney shall not be examined without the consent of his client as to any communication made by the client to him or his advice given thereon in the course of professional employment; nor shall an attorney’s secretary, paralegal, legal assistant, stenographer, or clerk be examined without the consent of his employer concerning any fact, the knowledge of which he has acquired in such capacity.

    Priest – Minister – Rabbi – Penitent Privilege and Confidentiality in Colorado

    (c) A clergy member, minister, priest, or rabbi shall not be examined without both his or her consent and also the consent of the person making the confidential communication as to any confidential communication made to him or her in his or her professional capacity in the course of discipline expected by the religious body to which he or she belongs.

    Doctor – Nurse – Medical -Patient Privilege and Confidentiality in Colorado

    (d) A physician, surgeon, or registered professional nurse duly authorized to practice his profession pursuant to the laws of this state or any other state shall not be examined without the consent of his patient as to any information acquired in attending the patient which was necessary to enable him to prescribe or act for the patient, but this paragraph (d) shall not apply to

    (I) A physician, surgeon, or registered professional nurse who is sued by or on behalf of a patient or by or on behalf of the heirs, executors, or administrators of a patient on any cause of action arising out of or connected with the physician’s or nurse’s care or treatment of such patient;

    (II) A physician, surgeon, or registered professional nurse who was in consultation with a physician, surgeon, or registered professional nurse being sued as provided in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (d) on the case out of which said suit arises;

    (III) A review of a physician’s or registered professional nurse’s services by any of the following:

    (A) The governing board of a hospital licensed pursuant to part 1 of article 3 of title 25, C.R.S., where said physician or registered professional nurse practices or the medical staff of such hospital if the medical staff operates pursuant to written bylaws approved by the governing board of such hospital;

    (B) An organization authorized by federal or state law or contract to review physicians’ or registered professional nurses’ services or an organization which reviews the cost or quality of physicians’ or registered professional nurses’ services under a contract with the sponsor of a nongovernment group health care program;

    (C) The state board of medical examiners, the state board of nursing, or a person or group authorized by such board to make an investigation in its behalf;

    (D) A peer review committee of a society or association of physicians or registered professional nurses whose membership includes not less than one-third of the medical doctors or doctors of osteopathy or registered professional nurses licensed to practice in this state and only if the physician or registered professional nurse whose services are the subject of review is a member of such society or association and said physician or registered professional nurse has signed a release authorizing such review;

    (E) A committee, board, agency, government official, or court to which appeal may be taken from any of the organizations or groups listed in this subparagraph (III);

    (IV) A physician or any health care provider who was in consultation with the physician who may have acquired any information or records relating to the services performed by the physician specified in subparagraph (III) of this paragraph (d);

    (V) A registered professional nurse who is subject to any claim or the nurse’s employer subject to any claim therein based on a nurse’s actions, which claims are required to be defended and indemnified by any insurance company or trust obligated by contract;

    (VI) A physician, surgeon, or registered professional nurse who is being examined as a witness as a result of his consultation for medical care or genetic counseling or screening pursuant to section 13-64-502 in connection with a civil action to which section 13-64-502 applies.

    Public Officer Privilege and Confidentiality in Colorado

    (e) A public officer shall not be examined as to communications made to him in official confidence, when the public interests, in the judgment of the court, would suffer by the disclosure.

    Accountant Privilege and Confidentiality in Colorado

     (f)(I) A certified public accountant shall not be examined without the consent of his or her client as to any communication made by the client to him or her in person or through the media of books of account and financial records or his or her advice, reports, or working papers given or made thereon in the course of professional employment; nor shall a secretary, stenographer, clerk, or assistant of a certified public accountant be examined without the consent of the client concerned concerning any fact, the knowledge of which he or she has acquired in such capacity.

    (II) No certified public accountant in the employ of the state auditor’s office shall be examined as to any communication made in the course of professional service to the legislative audit committee either in person or through the media of books of account and financial records or advice, reports, or working papers given or made thereon; nor shall a secretary, clerk, or assistant of a certified public accountant who is in the employ of the state auditor’s office be examined concerning any fact, the knowledge of which such secretary, clerk, or assistant acquired in such capacity, unless such information has been made open to public inspection by a majority vote of the members of the legislative audit committee.

    (III)(A) Subpoena powers for public entity audit and reviews. Subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (f) shall not apply to the Colorado state board of accountancy, nor to a person or group authorized by the board to make an investigation on the board’s behalf, concerning an accountant’s reports, working papers, or advice to a public entity that relate to audit or review accounting activities of the certified public accountant or certified public accounting firm being investigated.

    (B) For the purposes of this subparagraph (III), a “public entity” shall include a governmental agency or entity; quasi-governmental entity; nonprofit entity; or public company that is considered an “issuer”, as defined in section 2 of the federal “Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002”, 15 U.S.C. sec. 7201.

    (IV)(A) Subpoena powers for private entity audit and reviews. Subparagraph (I) of this paragraph

    (f) shall not apply to the Colorado state board of accountancy, nor to a person or group authorized by the board to make an investigation on the board’s behalf, concerning an accountant’s reports or working papers of a private entity that is not publicly traded and relate to audit or review attest activities of the certified public accountant or certified public accounting firm being investigated. This subparagraph (IV) shall not be construed to authorize the Colorado state board of accountancy or its agent to subpoena or examine income tax returns.

    (B) At the request of either the client of the certified public accountant or certified public accounting firm or the certified public accountant or certified public accounting firm subject to the subpoena pursuant to this subparagraph (IV), a second certified public accounting firm or certified public accountant with no interest in the matter may review the report or working papers for compliance with the provisions of article 2 of title 12, C.R.S. The second certified public accounting firm or certified public accountant conducting the review must be approved by the board prior to beginning its review. The approval of the second certified public accounting firm or certified public accountant shall be in good faith. The written report issued by a second certified public accounting firm or certified public accountant shall be in lieu of a review by the board. Such report shall be limited to matters directly related to the work performed by the certified public accountant or certified public accounting firm being investigated and should exclude specific references to client financial information. The party requesting that a second certified public accounting firm or certified public accountant review the reports and working papers shall pay any additional expenses related to retaining the second certified public accounting firm or certified public accountant by the party who made the request. The written report of the second certified public accounting firm or certified public accountant shall be submitted to the board. The board may use the findings of the second certified public accounting firm or certified public accountant as grounds for discipline pursuant to article 2 of title 12, C.R.S.

    (V) Disclosure of information under subparagraph (III) or (IV) of this paragraph (f) shall not waive or otherwise limit the confidentiality and privilege of such information nor relieve any certified public accountant, any certified public accounting firm, the Colorado state board of accountancy, or a person or group authorized by such board of the obligation of confidentiality. Disclosure which is not in good faith of such information shall subject the board, a member thereof, or its agent to civil liability pursuant to section 12-2-103(6), C.R.S.

    (VI) Any certified public accountant or certified public accounting firm that receives a subpoena for reports or accountant’s working papers related to the audit or review attest activities of the accountant or accounting firm pursuant to subparagraph (III) or (IV) of this paragraph (f) shall notify his or her client of the subpoena within three business days after the date of service of the subpoena.

    (VII) Subparagraph (III) or (IV) of this paragraph (f) shall not operate as a waiver, on behalf of any third party or the certified public accountant or certified public accounting firm, of due process remedies available under the “State Administrative Procedure Act”, article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., the open records laws, article 72 of title 24, C.R.S., or any other provision of law.

    (VIII) Prior to the disclosure of information pursuant to subparagraph (III) or (IV) of this paragraph (f), the certified public accountant, certified public accounting firm, or client thereof shall have the opportunity to designate reports or working papers related to the attest function under subpoena as privileged and confidential pursuant to this paragraph (f) or the open records laws, article 72 of title 24, C.R.S., in order to assure that the report or working papers shall not be disseminated or otherwise republished and shall only be reviewed pursuant to limited authority granted to the board under subparagraph (III) or (IV) of this paragraph (f).

    (IX) No later than thirty days after the board of accountancy completes the investigation for which records or working papers are subpoenaed pursuant to subparagraph (III) or (IV) of this paragraph (f), the board shall return all original records, working papers, or copies thereof to the certified public accountant or certified public accounting firm.

    (X) Nothing in subparagraphs (III) and (IV) of this paragraph (f) shall cause the accountant-client privilege to be waived as to customer financial and account information of depository institutions or to the regulatory examinations and other regulatory information relating to depository institutions.

    (XI) For the purposes of subparagraphs (III) to (X) of this paragraph (f), “entity” shall have the same meaning as in section 7-90-102(20), C.R.S.

    (g) A licensed psychologist, professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, social worker, unlicensed psychotherapist, or licensed addiction counselor shall not be examined without the consent of such licensee’s or unlicensed psychotherapist’s client as to any communication made by the client to such licensee or unlicensed psychotherapist or such licensee’s or unlicensed psychotherapist’s advice given thereon in the course of professional employment; nor shall any secretary, stenographer, or clerk employed by a licensed psychologist, professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, social worker, unlicensed psychotherapist, or licensed addiction counselor be examined without the consent of the employer of such secretary, stenographer, or clerk concerning any fact, the knowledge of which such employee has acquired in such capacity; nor shall any person who has participated in any psychotherapy, conducted under the supervision of a person authorized by law to conduct such therapy, including but not limited to group therapy sessions, be examined concerning any knowledge gained during the course of such therapy without the consent of the person to whom the testimony sought relates.

    (h) A qualified interpreter, pursuant to section 13-90-202, who is called upon to testify concerning the communications he interpreted between a hearing-impaired person and another person, one of whom holds a privilege pursuant to this subsection (1), shall not be examined without the written consent of the person who holds the privilege.

    (i) A confidential intermediary, as defined in section 19-1-103(26), C.R.S., shall not be examined as to communications made to him or her in official confidence when the public interests, in the judgment of the court, would suffer by the disclosure of such communications.

    (j)(I)(A) If any person or entity performs a voluntary self-evaluation, the person, any officer or employee of the entity or person involved with the voluntary self-evaluation, if a specific responsibility of such employee was the performance of or participation in the voluntary self-evaluation or the preparation of the environmental audit report, or any consultant who is hired for the purpose of performing the voluntary self-evaluation for the person or entity may not be examined as to the voluntary self-evaluation or environmental audit report without the consent of the person or entity or unless ordered to do so by any court of record, or, pursuant to section 24-4-105, C.R.S., by an administrative law judge. For the purposes of this paragraph (j), “voluntary self-evaluation” and “environmental audit report” have the meanings provided for the terms in section 13-25-126.5(2).

    (B) This paragraph (j) does not apply if the voluntary self-evaluation is subject to an exception allowing admission into evidence or discovery pursuant to the provisions of section 13-25-126.5(3) or (4).

    (II) This paragraph (j) applies to voluntary self-evaluations that are performed on or after June 1, 1994.

    Victim Advocate Privilege and Confidentiality in Colorado

     (k)(I) A victim’s advocate shall not be examined as to any communication made to such victim’s advocate by a victim of domestic violence, as defined in section 18-6-800.3(1), C.R.S., or a victim of sexual assault, as described in sections 18-3-401 to 18-3-405.5, 18-6-301, and

    18-6-302, C.R.S., in person or through the media of written records or reports without the consent of the victim.

    (II) For purposes of this paragraph (k), a “victim’s advocate” means a person at a battered women’s shelter or rape crisis organization or a comparable community-based advocacy program for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault and does not include an advocate employed by any law enforcement agency:

    (A) Whose primary function is to render advice, counsel, or assist victims of domestic or family violence or sexual assault; and

    (B) Who has undergone not less than fifteen hours of training as a victim’s advocate or, with respect to an advocate who assists victims of sexual assault, not less than thirty hours of training as a sexual assault victim’s advocate; and

    (C) Who supervises employees of the program, administers the program, or works under the direction of a supervisor of the program.

    Parent Child – Privilege and Confidentiality in Colorado

     (l)(I) A parent may not be examined as to any communication made in confidence by the parent’s minor child to the parent when the minor child and the parent were in the presence of an attorney representing the minor child, or in the presence of a physician who has a confidential relationship with the minor child pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subsection (1), or in the presence of a mental health professional who has a confidential relationship with the minor child pursuant to paragraph (g) of this subsection (1), or in the presence of a clergy member, minister, priest, or rabbi who has a confidential relationship with the minor child pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (1). The exception may be waived by express consent to disclosure by the minor child who made the communication or by failure of the minor child to object when the contents of the communication are demanded. This exception does not relieve any physician, mental health professional, or clergy member, minister, priest, or rabbi from any statutory reporting requirements.

    (II) This exception does not apply to

    (A) Any civil action or proceeding by one parent against the other or by a parent or minor child against the other;

    (B) Any proceeding to commit either the minor child or parent, pursuant to title 27, C.R.S., to whom the communication was made;

    (C) Any guardianship or conservatorship action to place the person or property or both under the control of another because of an alleged mental or physical condition of the minor child or the minor child’s parent;

    (D) Any criminal action or proceeding in which a minor’s parent is charged with a crime committed against the communicating minor child, the parent’s spouse, or a minor child of either the parent or the parent’s spouse;

    (E) Any action or proceeding for termination of the parent-child legal relationship;

    (F) Any action or proceeding for voluntary relinquishment of the parent-child legal relationship; or

    (G) Any action or proceeding on a petition alleging child abuse, dependency or neglect, abandonment, or non-support by a parent.

    (III) For purposes of this paragraph (l):

    (A) “Minor child” means any person under the age of eighteen years.

    (B) “Parent” includes the legal guardian or legal custodian of a minor child as well as adoptive parents.

    (m)(I) A law enforcement or firefighter peer support team member shall not be examined without the consent of the person to whom peer support services have been provided as to any communication made by the person to the peer support team member under the circumstances described in subparagraph (III) of this paragraph (m); nor shall a recipient of individual peer support services be examined as to any such communication without the recipient’s consent.

    (II) For purposes of this paragraph (m):

    (A) “Communication” means an oral statement, written statement, note, record, report, or document, made during, or arising out of, a meeting with a peer support team member.

    (B) “Law enforcement or firefighter peer support team member” means a peace officer, civilian employee, or volunteer member of a law enforcement agency or a regular or volunteer member of a fire department or other person who has been trained in peer support skills and who is officially designated by a police chief, the chief of the Colorado state patrol, a sheriff, or a fire chief as a member of a law enforcement agency’s peer support team or a fire department’s peer support team.

    (III) The provisions of this paragraph (m) shall apply only to communications made during individual interactions conducted by a peer support team member:

    (A) Acting in the person’s official capacity as a law enforcement or firefighter peer support team member; and

    (B) Functioning within the written peer support guidelines that are in effect for the person’s respective law enforcement agency or fire department.

    (IV) This paragraph (m) shall not apply in cases in which:

    (A) A law enforcement or firefighter peer support team member was a witness or a party to an incident which prompted the delivery of peer support services;

    (B) Information received by a peer support team member is indicative of actual or suspected child abuse, as described in section 18-6-401, C.R.S., or actual or suspected child neglect, as described in section 19-3-102, C.R.S.;

    (C) Due to alcohol or other substance intoxication or abuse, as described in sections 25-1-310 and 25-1-1106, C.R.S., the person receiving peer support is a clear and immediate danger to the person’s self or others;

    (D) There is reasonable cause to believe that the person receiving peer support has a mental illness and, due to the mental illness, is an imminent threat to himself or herself or others or is gravely disabled as defined in section 27-10-102, C.R.S.; or

    (E) There is information indicative of any criminal conduct.

    (2) The medical records produced for use in the review provided for in subparagraphs (III), (IV), and (V) of paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section shall not become public records by virtue of such use. The identity of any patient whose records are so reviewed shall not be disclosed to any person not directly involved in such review process, and procedures shall be adopted by the state board of medical examiners

    or state board of nursing to ensure that the identity of the patient shall be concealed during the review process itself.

    (3) The provisions of paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to physicians required to make reports in accordance with section 12-36-135, C.R.S. In addition, the provisions of paragraphs (d) and (g) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to physicians or psychologists eligible to testify concerning a criminal defendant’s mental condition pursuant to section 16-8-103.6, C.R.S. Physicians and psychologists testifying concerning a criminal defendant’s mental condition pursuant to section 16-8-103.6, C.R.S., do not fall under the attorney-client privilege in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section.


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    ___________________________
    H. Michael Steinberg Esq.
    Attorney and Counselor at Law
    The Colorado Criminal Defense Law Firm of H. Michael Steinberg
    A Denver, Colorado Lawyer Focused Exclusively On
    Colorado Criminal Law For Over 40 Years.
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