National Survey of State Law Privileged Communications Relevant to Human Trafficking Services
The ability to keep private communication between a survivor of human trafficking and their professional support system is critically important. However, knowing what communications are and are not privileged can be confusing. Across the United States, state laws on which communications are privileged vary widely and can be difficult to read.
CAST, in partnership with the University of Arkansas School of Law’s Human Trafficking Clinic created this resource intended to serve as a general overview of the types of privilege available in each state. It also includes the complete collection of statutes and rules pertaining to the state law privileged communications most likely to be relevant when working with human trafficking survivors. It uses easy-to-read tags to show which of these privileges are available by state. This resource is an excellent starting point to help those providing services to trafficked individuals to understand whether their communications with those individuals are likely to be protected and how to best protect them.
This material was produced by the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking under 15POVC-23-GK-00929-HT, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. This material is copyrighted by CAST © 2015-2024. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or duplicated in whole or part by any means without express prior agreement from CAST or the Office for Victims of Crime. attorney-client privilege so you do not need to redact your materials before sending them to us.