A Common Understanding of Privacy

Though lawyers and judges, alike, may not appreciate it much, people know what privacy means. Ask a non-lawyer what privacy means and they will likely come up with a definition similar to these:

Privacy:

1 a: the quality or state of being apart from company or observation: SECLUSION b: freedom from unauthorized intrusion (one's right to privacy)
Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

The condition or state of being free from public attention to intrusion into or interference with one's acts or decisions.
Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004).

Non-lawyers likely believe that their mail is private; they believe that their e-mail is private; they believe that their bank statements are private; and depending how much they know about the USA Patriot Act, they probably believe that their library records are private. This may seem obvious, but I believe it is critical for lawyers and judges to remind themselves of what privacy means in the “real-world.”

I believe that where the Law’s understanding of privacy differs from the citizenry’s view privacy, the public’s trust and confidence in Law is eroded. This is one reason why lawyers should work to make the Law’s view of privacy consistent with the citizenry’s view.