In St. Croix v. Superior Court (Grossman), published July 28, 2014, the First District Court of Appeal, Division 1, issued a writ of mandate directing a trial court to vacate its own writ of mandate directing the San Francisco Ethics Commission to disclose written communications with the San Francisco city attorney under the California Public Records Act. The person who requested the records argued that the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance required disclosure of the communications, regardless of privilege. The court ruled that because the city charter created an attorney-client relationship between the city attorney and city commissions, incorporated the state law attorney-client privilege for written communications between the city attorney and his or her clients. A charter city's ordinance cannot contravene its charter. To the extent the ordinance purports to compel disclosure of attorney-client privileged materials, it conflicts with the charter. Because the California Public Records Act excludes production of attorney-client privileged materials, the trial court erred in ordering disclosure of those documents.
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