As discussed in my posting on September 9, 2008, both houses of Congress had passed S. 2450, which created a new Rule of Evidence 502 addressing waiver of the attorney-client privilege and work product protection.
President Bush signed the bill on September 19, 2008, which became Public Law 110-322. So the new Rule 502 will now be in effect.
As an aside, some may be wondering why Congress had to enact a law to add the new rule of evidence, rather than following the normal path where the Supreme Court simply proposes amendments to the federal rules of practice, procedure, and evidence that take effect automatically unless Congress acts affirmatively to modify, defer, or reject the proposed changes. That's because, under the Rules Enabling Act, "[a]ny such rule creating, abolishing, or modifying an evidentiary privilege shall have no force or effect unless approved by Act of Congress." See 28 U.S.C. § 2074(b).
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