NCJ Number
100044
Journal
Arizona Law Review Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: (1984) Pages: 461-488
Date Published
1984
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This paper examines deficiencies in existing sexual assault victim-counselor statutes and then proposes a model law which attempts to develop a balancing procedure to reconcile the Davis v. Alaska sixth amendment concerns with the sexual assault victim's right to privacy.
Abstract
The sexual assault victim-counselor relationship is analyzed to see if it warrants recognition under traditional privilege criteria. The paper concludes that adopting a qualified privilege specifically tailored to this situation is preferable to either absolute acceptance or rejection of the privilege. Various avenues of recognizing the privilege are then considered, with attention to Arizona law and the four States which have statutorily conferred privilege status to communications between sexual assault victims and their counselors: Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Illinois, and California. The final section proposes a model statue which provides mechanisms for resolving the conflict between the defendant's right to confront the witnesses against him and the victim's privacy right. 176 footnotes.