O'Connor v. Johnson

287 N.W.2d 400 (1979)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
O
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

O'Connor v. Johnson

Minnesota Supreme Court
287 N.W.2d 400 (1979)

Facts

David O’Connor (plaintiff) was an attorney who represented the owners of Patrick’s Lounge. The owners were suspected of filing falsified liquor-license applications. Police were informed that the owners’ records were at O’Connor’s law office and obtained a warrant to search the law office for the records. When police attempted to execute the warrant, O’Connor refused to let them enter his office but informed them that the records were contained in a box and in his work-product file. O’Connor and the officers went to the chambers of Judge Johnson (defendant), where O’Connor moved to quash the warrant. Johnson allowed O’Connor to keep his work-product file but ordered him to leave the box of records with the court. Later, Johnson ordered O’Connor to turn the box over to the police department and ordered a representative of the county attorney’s office to review O’Connor’s work-product file and turn over all documents that were not privileged to the police department. O’Connor petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court for a writ of prohibition to quash the search warrant, and Johnson amended his order so that the court, rather than the county attorney’s office, would perform the privilege review.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Wahl, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Criminal Procedure

Key Terms