NCJ Number
136435
Journal
Journal of Law and Health Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (1990-1991) Pages: 101-142
Date Published
1990
Length
42 pages
Annotation
Rape victims are denied the confidentiality due them when their rape-crisis center records are admitted into evidence and scrutinized in court. This type of procedure demonstrates the courts' inclination to place a presumption of fault on the victim.
Abstract
The therapeutic setting of the rape-crisis center, in which the victim begins her recovery and establishes a healing relationship with her therapist, is contrasted to the courtroom setting, in which the victim must deal with the underlying assumption that the sexual assault was consensual. The court must consider two competing concerns when deciding whether to admit the records into evidence: the defendant's right of confrontation with the right to compel testimony and the victim's right to privacy. Some situations are analogous to that of the rape-crisis center: a waiver of privilege by the patient-litigant exception and various recognized testimonial privileges. This article examines the constitutionality of admitting mental health records into evidence for both child and adult victims, and it analyzes the special considerations surrounding a confidentiality privilege including evidentiary concerns and the courts' application of various types of privileges. The author urges State legislatures to protect the confidentiality privilege of rape victims by mandating a uniform privilege through statute. 336 notes