The Government-Informant Privilege

An MBE curveball I saw recently while working with a student is called the government informant privilege. Showed up in an official question, so they do test it. The privilege protects the government from being compelled to disclose the identity of informants.

But, as always with this test, the exceptions are as important as the rule. The privilege does not apply if: 1: The informant's identity is already known to those with cause to resent the communication to law enforcement, or 2: The defendant shows that the informant's identity is material to the establishment of a defense or otherwise needed for a fair determination of the case. Important to note that even when the privilege does apply, it only protects against revealing the informant's identity. It does not protect against revealing the contents of the informant's communication (provided revealing the content will not reveal the identity).