14.8 Article V—privileges

• Library: Virginia Law and Practice: A Handbook for Attorneys (Virginia CLE) (2020 Ed.)

14.8 ARTICLE V—PRIVILEGES

14.801 Index.

2:501. Privileged Communications

2:502. Attorney-Client Privilege

2:503. Clergy and Communicant Privilege ¹¹

2:504. Spousal Testimony and Marital Communications Privileges ¹²

2:505. Healing Arts Practitioner and Patient Privilege ¹³

[Page 996]

2:506. Mental Health Professional and Client Privilege ¹⁴

2:507. Privileged Communications Involving Interpreters ¹⁵

14.802 Comments.

A. Rule 2:501. Rule 2:501 provides an overall dictate that, unless otherwise required by the United States or Virginia Constitution or other statute or rule, all privileges that currently exist will be "governed by the principles of common law as they may be interpreted by the courts of this Commonwealth in the light of reason and experience." Despite such an all encompassing view, the only other privilege raised by the rules that had not been previously reflected by statute is the attorney-client privilege, now set forth in Rule 2:502. That rule merely restates the same principle.

B. Rule 2:503. Rule 2:503 (clergy/communicant) restates Va. Code § 8.01-400 and preserves the privilege of a "clergy member" to not be required to testify or produce records if it would reveal "any information communicated in a confidential manner, properly entrusted to such clergy member in a professional capacity and necessary to enable discharge of the functions of office according to the usual course of the clergy member's practice or discipline" if the communicant was "seeking spiritual counsel and advice relating to and growing out of the information so imparted."...