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Keywords

defendantattorneydiscoveryappealseizureattorney-client privilege
defendantattorneyappealtrialprosecutorattorney-client privilege

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People v. Nash, 418 Mich. 196, 341 N.W.2d 439

Facts

Defendant and her husband lived in a rented trailer and were behind on rent. After the couple was not seen for some time, the trailer owner discovered a suspicious box outside the trailer. Upon investigation, the box was found to contain the decomposed body of the victim. The sheriff opened the box without a warrant, leading to the discovery of evidence against the defendant. Additionally, evidence was obtained from the defendant's attorney's office, which raised concerns about attorney-client privilege.

Defendant was a few weeks behind in her rent as of the middle of January 1974, and had not recently been seen at the trailer. Neighbors had seen someone moving boxes out of the trailer.

Issue

Did the search of the box outside the trailer violate the Fourth Amendment, and was the introduction of evidence obtained from the defendant's attorney's office a violation of attorney-client privilege?

We granted the prosecutor's application for leave to appeal, 414 Mich. 869 (1982), to consider whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that evidence of the body of the victim should have been suppressed at trial because it was discovered as a result of an unconstitutional search of the defendant's property.

Rule

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the attorney-client privilege protects communications between an attorney and their client from being disclosed without consent.

A search without a warrant, subject to certain exceptions not applicable here, is unreasonable per se under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Analysis

The court determined that the box was not protected under the Fourth Amendment because it had been moved outside the trailer by a private individual, thus negating any reasonable expectation of privacy. The court also found that while evidence from the attorney's office could be admitted, the source of that evidence should not be disclosed to the jury due to the attorney-client privilege.

In the present case, it is by no means clear that defendant had retained any property interest in the rented premises. The United States Supreme Court has rejected the idea that 'arcane distinctions developed in property law' are dispositive of Fourth Amendment rights.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, allowing the evidence from the box to be admitted but ruling that the source of evidence from the attorney's office could not be disclosed.

We hold that the evidence of the body of the victim and the bullets recovered from it was properly introduced at trial in this case.

Who won?

The prevailing party was the defendant in part, as the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals' decision regarding the attorney-client privilege.

The Court of Appeals found that defense counsel had a duty to turn the physical evidence over to the police and that so doing did not violate the attorney-client privilege.

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