One of the ways that our Association engages in advocacy on behalf of the legal profession is through amicus briefs. One of our members, Jessica McElfresh, was charged, along with a client, of various felonies under California state law. Among other things, the San Diego DA sought to invoke the crime-fraud exception to attorney client privilege predicated on a stipulated breach of Federal Law (the CSA) in the state-law criminal action. The DA sought the crime-fraud exception for all of Ms. McElfresh’s client files, not only those directly involved in the then-pending action.

As an attack on the legal profession and the practice of law in a manner that would chill legal representation and that would all but eliminate clients’ trust in privileged nature of their communications with an attorney that represented cannabis clients, the Cannabis Bar Association had no choice but to step in on behalf of the legal profession.

On September 8, 2017, the International Cannabis Bar Association filed our first Amicus Brief as an organization. The brief was filed in the matter of attorney Jessica McElfresh, one of our founding members who is currently facing felony criminal charges for conspiracy (with her client) and obstruction of justice.

At the request of INCBA, The Law Office of Omar Figueroa drafted an amicus brief on behalf of INCBA that details the dangers of such a broad search, and the chilling effect that the search will have on attorney client relations. This brief was joined by Reason Foundation, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, Henry Wykowski, Esq., and the Association of Cannabis Professionals.

Regardless of the reason for Jessica’s charges, the effects of this attack on the attorney-client privilege range far beyond the cannabis industry and could signal the beginning of the erosion of the attorney client privilege itself.

Please see the full Amicus Brief below, filed on behalf of INCBA, for more information.