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| In the laws of many common law jurisdictions, the concept of
legal privilege, or the rule that certain conversations are so
private and confidential that they cannot be used as evidence in
court, extends to communication between a patient and physician.
Although the rule is sometimes thought to apply only to
situations such as admissions made to a psychiatrist during
treatment, this is only one case. In some jurisdictions,
conversations between a patient and physician may be privileged
in both criminal and civil courts. The privilege may cover the
situation where a patient confesses to a psychiatrist that he or
she committed a particular crime. It may also cover normal
inquiries regarding matters such as injuries that may result in
civil action. For example, any defendant that the patient may be
suing at the time cannot ask the doctor if the patient ever
expressed the belief that his o