If You are Charged with a Crime in Minnesota, Can You Get Medical or Mental Health Records of an Accuser?
When somebody is charged with a crime, they have a broad right to discovery in order to defend themselves. This information is generally provided by the prosecuting authority plus what the Defense can acquire on their own. If the Defense wants more information that is confidential or protected in some way, they may have to ask the Court to look at that information to decide whether the Defense should be able to see it. Examples of protected information are frequently medical records, mental health records, or other confidential records. These are sometimes sought in domestic assault cases, violent assault cases and rape and child molestation cases. In Minnesota, this kind of motion is called a Paradee Motion.
A Paradee Motion allows the court to look at confidential documents in camera (on their own) to decide whether the information should be shared with the Defense. In order to make this happen, the Defense must establish a plausible showing that the information sought is both “material and fovorable for his defense.” Essentially, the Defense has to show why the information matters and that is will actually help the Defense.
This is challenging. To quote former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (no endorsement here), “I don’t know what I don’t know.”
If the Court decides that the Defense has met this burden, the Court will order the records be sent to their Chambers. The Court will then apply a balancing test. The Court on their own will decide whether it is more important to protect that confidential information requested versus the need for the Defense to use that information to properly defend themselves in a criminal case.
Is this about credibility and developing a strong and coherent defense? Absolutely. Does this potentially place a burden on a complaining witness? No question about it.
One of the challenges of seeking this kind of documentation is that the Defense may not know exactly what they are seeking. They just know that it exists. Therefore, it is extraordinarily difficult to say with specificity that they need this medical record from this doctor in this city at this time when they have one of this information. Worse, the prosecutors may not have it either. So, taking this nebulous request to the Court can be challenging but potentially critical to a proper Defense. To quote former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (no endorsement here), “I don’t know what I don’t know.” Suffice it to say, it is a challenge and Courts frequently refuse to release these kinds of documents. However under some circumstances, it is still worth the effort.
This process was really established here in Minnesota to provide a layer of protection to people so that the Defense can’t needlessly rummage through their lives. At the same time, if there is something important for the the Defense to see it, this provides a process to allow that to happen. Is this about credibility and developing a strong and coherent defense? Absolutely. Does this potentially place a burden on a complaining witness? No question about it. However, if the presumption of innocence is to survive, the burden is on the State to provide that a crime was committed in the first place.
If you are facing assault, rape or other serious criminal charges, it is critical you contact a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. If the police want to “just talk”, talk to your lawyer first.
Jack Rice is the founder of Jack Rice Defense, a Criminal Defense firm based in St. Paul Minnesota. Jack is a former prosecutor, a Board Certified Criminal Law Special and an award winning criminal defense attorney. For a free confidential consultation, contact Jack Rice Defense at 651-447-7650 or click this link to leave a message. We will follow up.