§ 42.07 Key Points

• Jurisdiction: United States

§ 42.07 Key Points

Informant's Privilege

All jurisdictions recognize a qualified privilege that permits the prosecution to withhold the identity of an informant. This common law privilege is intended to further the public interest in effective law enforcement by protecting the identity of informants. The holder is the government, not the informant. The privilege covers only the identity of the informant. Thus, if revealing the informant's communication will not reveal the informant's identity, the communication is not privileged.

There are two exceptions to the privilege. First, once the identity of the informant becomes known, the privilege ceases. Second, if the identity of the informant would provide...