{"id":727,"date":"2020-02-04T20:43:45","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T01:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clearwatercriminallawyer.net\/?p=727"},"modified":"2026-01-31T13:28:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T18:28:31","slug":"court-assesses-patient-therapist-privilege-in-florida-sex-crime-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneyclearwater.net\/blog\/court-assesses-patient-therapist-privilege-in-florida-sex-crime-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Court Assesses Patient-Therapist Privilege in Florida Sex Crime Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

The law affords many rights to people accused of sex crimes, such as the right to confront their accusers. In some instances, however, the court may determine that the rights of the alleged victim or privilege between the victim and another party outweigh the defendant’s rights, and bar the defendant from seeking protected communications or impressions. Recently, the District Court of Appeals of Florida, First District, discussed when a defendant\u2019s Sixth Amendment Right to confront his or her accuser overrides a doctor-patient privilege, in a case<\/a> in which the defendant was charged with molesting a minor. If you are charged with committing a Clearwater sex crime it is prudent to engage a seasoned defense attorney to assist you in fighting to protect your rights.<\/p>\n

Facts of the Case<\/h2>\n

It is alleged that the defendant was charged with committing multiple sex crimes against his adopted son, including sexual battery by a person in a position of familial authority and lascivious or lewd molestation of a child. Before the trial, the State produced two psychological assessments of the victim, that indicated issues with regards to his state of mind, credibility, and bias. The State then filed a motion for a protective order, barring the victim’s treating psychologists from testifying at trial. The trial court granted the order. During the trial, the State largely relied on the victim’s testimony regarding the alleged abuse. A jury found the defendant guilty of all charges, after which he appealed, arguing in part that the trial court erred in refusing to permit the defendant to introduce evidence from the victim\u2019s treating psychologists.<\/p>\n

Sixth Amendment Right to Confront Accusers<\/h2>\n

Under Florida law, the psychotherapist-patient privilege protects a person\u2019s communications and records pertaining to mental health treatment from disclosure. While the law specifically provides for a waiver of the privilege in certain circumstances, none of them were present in this case. As such, the court analyzed whether the defendant was permitted to overcome the privilege to cross-examine the victim with information pertaining to his credibility and bias.<\/p>\n

Continue reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The law affords many rights to people accused of sex crimes, such as the right to confront their accusers. In some instances, however, the court may determine that the rights of the alleged victim or privilege between the victim and another party outweigh the defendant’s rights, and bar the defendant from seeking protected communications or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sex-crimes","category-sex-with-minor"],"yoast_head":"\nPrivilege in Criminal Cases that Can Change a Case<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dealing with sex crime charges? See how this ruling on patient therapist privilege sex your defense in Clearwater. 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