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GUIDELINE 7. ASSERTIONS OF PRIVILEGE AT DEPOSITIONS

West's Annotated Code of MarylandDiscovery Guidelines of the Maryland State Bar Association

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Discovery Guidelines of the Maryland State Bar Association
MD Discovery Guidelines, Guideline 7
GUIDELINE 7. ASSERTIONS OF PRIVILEGE AT DEPOSITIONS
Currentness
When a claim of privilege is asserted during a deposition and information is not provided on the basis of such assertion:
(a) The attorney or individual asserting the privilege shall identify during the deposition the nature of the claimed privilege (including work product); and
(b) The following information shall be provided during the deposition at the time the privilege is asserted, if sought, unless divulgence of such information would cause disclosure of the allegedly privileged information:
(1) For oral communications:
(i) the name of the person making the communication, the names of the persons present while the communication was made, and, where not apparent, the relationship of the persons present to the person making the communication;
(ii) the date and place of the communication; and
(iii) the general subject matter of the communication.
(2) For documents, to the extent the information is readily obtainable from the witness being deposed or otherwise:
(i) the type of document, e.g., letter or memorandum;
(ii) the general subject matter of the document;
(iii) the date of the document; and
(iv) such other information as is sufficient to identify the document for a subpoena duces tecum, including, where appropriate, the author, addressee, and any other recipient of the document, and where not apparent, the relationship of the author, addressee, and any other recipient to each other;
(3) Objections on the ground of privilege asserted during a deposition may be amplified by the objector subsequent to the deposition.
(c) After a claim of privilege has been asserted, the attorney seeking disclosure should have reasonable latitude during the deposition to question the witness to establish other relevant information concerning the assertion of privilege, including:
(1) the applicability of the particular privilege being asserted;
(2) circumstances which may constitute an exception to the assertion of the privilege;
(3) circumstances which may result in the privilege having been waived; and
(4) circumstances which may overcome a claim of qualified privilege.

Credits

[Former Rule 6 amended eff. Feb. 1, 1990. Renumbered and amended eff. March 15, 2016.]
MD Discovery Guidelines, Guideline 7, MD R DISCOV Guideline 7
Current with amendments received through June 1, 2023. Some sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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