From the Breaking News Center:
Federal prosecutors today sought a court order that could force former
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s former general counsel to testify at
Blagojevich’s corruption trial.
According to the filing, William
J. Quinlan, counsel to the governor’s office under Blagojevich, has
declined to produce documents or agree to testify because Blagojevich
has not formally waived his attorney-client privilege. Communications
between a lawyer and a client are typically protected from being used in
court.
But in seeking to compel Quinlan to provide materials and
testify, prosecutors cited a 2002 decision in which the 7th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals found that the attorney-client privilege does not
apply in conversations between a public official and a taxpayer-provided
attorney such as Quinlan at the time.
Read more from Tribune federal courts reporter Jeff Coen by clicking here.