An inmate’s jailhouse phone call instructing relatives to relay to his attorney his willingness to accept a plea deal is not protected by attorney-client privilege, a federal appeals panel has ruled.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that Joel Rodriguez—who knew that his call was being recorded—-did not have a “reasonable expectation of confidentiality” when he told his sister to tell his brother to tell his attorney that he wanted to discuss whether he could “cop out” before an indictment.
