A few months ago we wrote about an Ohio judge who held a public defender in contempt for refusing to disclose what a deceased client may have told her in confidence about the disappearance of a missing 9-year-old girl named Erica Baker.

Today, the Ohio Appeals Court ruled that the public defender must give up the information.

From the AP article:

"The 2nd Ohio District Court of Appeals sided Thursday with a judge who held public defender Beth Lewis in contempt for refusing to tell a grand jury whether her client talked about Erica Baker's disappearance. Lewis contends such testimony would violate attorney-client privilege."

"Lewis represented Jan Franks, who died of a drug overdose last year. Investigators think Franks may have known something about the girl's disappearance based on information from a jail informant. Prosecutors were never able to establish a connection, but they want to know if Franks told anything to her attorney."

"Under Ohio law, a surviving spouse or a trustee of a client's estate can give permission for a lawyer to reveal the client's conversations. Franks' husband agreed to waive the attorney-client privilege."

"Lewis' attorney argued that the exception is intended only for probate matters, such as questions involving a will, and doesn't apply to the current case."

"In its unanimous ruling, the three-judge appeals court interpreted the law to mean that the attorney may be compelled to testify when surviving spouses give consent."

The order is stayed so that Lewis can appeal to a higher Ohio Court.

Howard Bashman says the opinion isn't up yet, but he'll post a link on How Appealing when it is.

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