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Rape-Complainant’s Mental Health Records Raised a Brady, Not a Confrontation, Issue—Trial Judge Properly Ruled that Most of the Records Would Not Be Turned Over to the Defense Because There was No Reasonable Possibility Disclosure Would Have Led to Defendant’s Acquittal

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Smith, over a forceful dissent by Judge Rivera, determined the trial court had properly refused to turn over to the defense most of the complainant’s mental health records.  The 18-year-old complainant called 911 to report she had just been raped by the 40-year-old defendant.  The defendant claimed that they had consensual sex but that he struggled with the complainant after she started to run away with his pants and money. The case came down to the credibility of the defendant and the complainant.  The complainant suffered from “Bipolar, Tourettes, post-traumatic-stress disorder, [and] epilepsy.”  She had visualized the presence of dead people, had cut herself, had been violent, had attempted suicide and had made an allegation of sexual assault against her father which one record referred to as “unfounded.” She also suffered from attention deficit disorder and hypersexuality. The trial judge disclosed only a few of complainant’s mental health records.  The majority determined the mental health records raised a Brady issue, not a confrontation issue (as was argued by the defendant and the dissent):

While defendant presents the issue as one of interference with his rights of confrontation and cross-examination, we view this as essentially a Brady case (Brady v Maryland, 373 US 83 [1963]; see Pennsylvania v Ritchie, 480 US 39, 56 [1987] [evaluating under Brady the question of whether confidential investigative files concerning child abuse must be disclosed to a criminal defendant]). Under Brady, a defendant is entitled to the disclosure of evidence favorable to his case “where the evidence is material” (373 US at 87). In New York, the test of materiality where, as here, the defendant has made a specific request for the evidence in question is whether there is a “reasonable possibility” that the verdict would have been different if the evidence had been disclosed … .

This case differs from the typical Brady case in that it involves confidential mental health records, and the decision to deny disclosure was made not by a prosecutor, but by a judge after an in camera review of the records sought. In such a case, the trial court has a measure of discretion in deciding whether records otherwise entitled to confidentiality should be disclosed … .

In sum, the issue here is whether the trial court abused its discretion in finding defendant’s interest in obtaining the records to be outweighed by the complainant’s interest in confidentiality; and defendant’s interest could be outweighed only if there was no reasonable possibility that the withheld materials would lead to his acquittal. Having examined those materials, we conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion. People v McCray, 2014 NY Slip Op 02970, CtApp 5-1-14

 

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