Ethics Opinions

Editor's Note: This opinion was originally published as RPC 120 (Revised). See also RPC 175.

 

Reporting Child Abuse

 

Opinion rules that, for the purpose of the Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer may, but need not necessarily, disclose confidential information concerning child abuse pursuant to a statutory requirement.

 

Inquiry:

 

Attorney A represents Clients H and W who are the parents of three minor children. During the course of the representation, H and W inform Attorney A of a matter unrelated to the representation, namely, that the minor children are the victims of continuing emotional and/or sexual and/or physical abuse.

 

G.S. §7A-543 generally requires that "any person or institution who has cause to suspect that any juvenile is abused or neglected shall report the case of that juvenile to the director of the Department of Social Services in the county where the juvenile resides or is found." The rule does not except from its terms attorneys whose suspicions are aroused by information received in confidence. Must Attorney A report the abuse of H and W's children to the director of the Department of Social Services against the wishes of her clients H and W?

 

Opinion:

 

No. A lawyer is not ethically required to report the child abuse under the facts described in the inquiry. Rule 4(b)(1) generally prohibits a lawyer from knowingly revealing confidential information of her client. The information in question is certainly confidential information as that term is defined in Rule 4(a) in that it was gained in the professional relationship, the clients have requested that it be held inviolate, and its disclosure would likely be embarrassing or detrimental to the clients. Rule 7.1(a)(3) states that a lawyer shall not intentionally prejudice or damage his or her client during the course of the professional relationship. Despite the language used by G.S. §7A-543 ("any person" shall report suspected child abuse or neglect to the director of the Department of Social Services in that county), there is nothing in Chapter 7A, Article 44, of the North Carolina General Statutes on "Screening of Abuse and Neglect Complaints" that abrogates attorney-client confidentiality or privilege. (G.S. §7A-551 specifically abrogates the physician-patient and psychologist-client privileges, while not mentioning the attorney-client privilege.)

 

Recognizing the State Bar's lack of authority to rule on questions of law, and rendering this opinion as an ethical matter only, until such time as our courts should dispositively rule that G.S. §7A-543 abrogates client confidentiality and privilege and requires a lawyer to report child abuse, Rule 4 controls and the lawyer is not ethically required to report child abuse (from information gained in the professional relationship), and the failure to so report will not be deemed a violation of Rule 1.2(b) and (d) and/or Rule 7.2(a)(3). In other words, although a lawyer failing to report suspected child abuse might sometime be criminally prosecuted pursuant to G.S. §7A-543, the State Bar will not treat this conduct as unethical under the present state of the law.

 

The above notwithstanding, it is possible that the exception contained in Rule 4(c)(4) might justify the disclosure of the confidential information in question. That provision authorizes an attorney to disclose confidential information regarding the intention of her clients to commit a crime. If Attorney A in this situation is satisfied that her clients intend to continue abusing their children, disclosure would certainly be allowed by this exception to the general rule.

 

Further, because G.S. §7A-543 is unclear and subject to being interpreted as abrogating attorney-client confidentiality and privilege, until our courts settle the legal question, an attorney will be allowed, in his or her discretion, to interpret G.S. §7A-543 as requiring such report and thus may ethically report the information gained through the confidential relationship concerning child abuse under the exception to Rule 4(b) contained in Rule 4(c)(3) to the effect that confidential information may be disclosed when "required by law."

 

This inquiry and response has focused solely on reporting suspected, but unknown and previously unreported, past and possibly ongoing child abuse, in order for it to be investigated and dealt with by the Department of Social Services. Once a client is accused of, under investigation for, or charged with child abuse that is a past act, attorney-client confidentiality and privilege would be protected by the client's constitutional rights to effective assistance of counsel, and it would be unethical to divulge such information gained in the professional relationship as to the client's past conduct.