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KRE 508 IDENTITY OF INFORMER
(a) General rule of privilege. The Commonwealth of Kentucky and
its sister states and the United States have a privilege to refuse
to disclose the identity of a person who has furnished information
relating to or assisting in an investigation of a possible violation
of a law to a law enforcement officer or member of a legislative
committee or its staff conducting an investigation.
(b) Who may
claim. The privilege may be claimed by an appropriate representative
of the public entity to which the information was furnished.
(c)
Exceptions:
(1) Voluntary disclosure; informer as a witness. No
privilege exists under this rule if the identity of the informer or
his interest in the subject matter of his communication has been
disclosed by the holder of the privilege or by the informer's own
action, or if the informer appears as a witness for the state.
Disclosure within a law enforcement agency or legislative committee
for a proper purpose does not waive the privilege.
(2) Testimony on
relevant issue. If it appears that an informer may be able to give
relevant testimony and the public entity invokes the privilege, the
court shall give the public entity an opportunity to make an in
camera showing in support of the claim of privilege. The showing
will ordinarily be in the form of affidavits, but the court may
direct that testimony be taken if it finds that the matter cannot be
resolved satisfactorily upon affidavits. If the court finds that
there is a reasonable probability that the informer can give
relevant testimony, and the public entity elects not to disclose
this identity, in criminal cases the court on motion of the
defendant or on its own motion shall grant appropriate relief, which
may include one (1) or more of the following:
(A) Requiring the
prosecuting attorney to comply;
(B) Granting the defendant
additional time or a continuance;
(C) Relieving the defendant from
making disclosures otherwise required of him;
(D) Prohibiting the
prosecuting attorney from introducing specified evidence; and
(E)
Dismissing charges.
(d) In civil cases, the court may make any order
the interests of justice require if the informer has pertinent
information. Evidence presented to the court shall be sealed and
preserved to be made available to the appellate court in the event
of an appeal, and the contents shall not otherwise be revealed
without consent of the informed public entity.
[1992 c 324, sec 13, 34,
eff. 7-1-92; 1990 c 88, sec 30]
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