Does attorney-client privilege apply in the context of criminal law?

"The attorney-client privilege is based on grounds of public policy and is in furtherance of the proper and orderly functioning of our judicial system, which necessarily depends on the confidential relationship between the attorney and the client." (People v. Gionis (1995) 9 Cal.4th 1196, 1207 (Gionis).) "In the criminal context, 'these policies assume particular significance: " 'As a practical matter, if the client knows that damaging information could more readily be obtained from the attorney following disclosure than from himself in the absence of disclosure, the client would be reluctant to confide in his [or her] lawyer and it would be difficult to obtain fully informed legal

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advice.' . . . Thus, if an accused is to derive the full benefits of his right to counsel, he [or she] must have the assurance of confidentiality and privacy of communication with his attorney." [Citations.]' " (Ibid., quoting People v. Meredith (1981) 29 Cal.3d 682, 691.)