Fla. Stat. § 90.508 — Privileged matter disclosed under compulsion or without opportunity to claim privilege

Protecting a Privilege After Mistaken Disclosure: This statute acts as a safeguard to ensure a person doesn't permanently lose a privilege because of a court's error or because they had no chance to stop a disclosure.

There are two main situations where this rule applies:

1. Erroneously Compelled Disclosure:

If a person properly claims a privilege (like attorney-client), but the judge incorrectly overrules their objection and forces them to disclose the information, this statute prevents that wrongly disclosed information from being used against them later. The privilege is not considered waived simply because the holder complied with a judge's direct order.

2. Disclosure Without Opportunity to Claim:

This applies when a confidential communication is revealed by someone else without the privilege-holder's consent and in a situation where the holder could not stop it. For example, if an eavesdropper overhears a confidential conversation between a lawyer and client and then tries to testify about it, the client can still assert the privilege to block that testimony. Because the client had no opportunity to claim the privilege at the moment of the eavesdropping, they did not waive it.