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Rule 511 Privileged Matter Disclosed Under Compulsion or Without

PRIVILEGES

← Previous Rule 510: Waiver of privilege or work product; limitations on waiver Next → Rule 512: Comment Upon or Inference from Claim of Privilege;

Opportunity to Claim Privilege.

A claim of privilege is not defeated by a disclosure which was (1) compelled erroneously or (2) made without opportunity to claim the privilege.

If a court wrongly forces you to share private or protected information, that mistake does not cancel your privilege. The protection still stands even though the information came out.

The same goes if you had no chance to object before the information was shared. Just because protected information got disclosed does not mean you gave up your right to keep it private. The law recognizes that sometimes people cannot stop a disclosure from happening, and it does not punish them for that.

Summary generated March 12, 2026

This rule tracks U.R.E. 511 which is based on draft of F.R.E. 512. See comment to Rule 501. Rule 511(2) should be interpreted as meaning that the disclosure was made without the party seeking the privilege having the opportunity to make a timely objection. An example of this is if the disclosure was blurted out by a witness during examination, or was made outside the presence of the privileged person. Failure to recognize the legal existence of the privilege is not deemed to be a lack of opportunity and therefore a failure to recognize and timely object may result in waiver of the privilege.

← Previous Rule 510: Waiver of privilege or work product; limitations on waiver Next → Rule 512: Comment Upon or Inference from Claim of Privilege;

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Last updated: March 2026

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