NCJ Number
181776
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2000 Pages: 1-11
Date Published
2000
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article addresses the United States Supreme Court’s 1996 decision in Jaffee v. Redmond, which created a Federal psychotherapist-patient privilege and extended that privilege to social workers engaged in psychotherapy.
Abstract
Jaffee was a civil case. However, its ramifications extended to the criminal area as well. The case involved a police officer shooting and killing a man who was holding a butcher knife and chasing and attempting to stab another man, while disregarding the police officer’s repeated commands to drop the weapon. The victim’s family filed a Federal lawsuit alleging that the police officer had violated the victim’s constitutional rights by using excessive force. The plaintiff learned that the police officer had participated in approximately 50 counseling sessions with a clinical social worker following the shooting and requested access to the counseling session notes for use in cross-examination. The Supreme Court upheld the appellate court decision by a 7-to-2 vote. The court cited law in all 50 States and the District of Columbia recognizing some form of psychotherapist-patient privilege. However, some dissension existed regarding the benefits and potential consequences of the new Jaffee privilege. Analysis of this case, the legislative history of psychotherapist privilege, and other judicial decisions regarding privilege suggest that mental health professionals, attorneys, and other criminal justice practitioners are ethically obligated to help clients make informed decisions about disclosing personal information on the basis of advance knowledge of consequences such as loss of liberty, due to the inevitable contradictory applications of the law of privilege. The law in this area is moving forward and will make for interesting litigation in the future. List of cases and 17 references