Story sought extraordinary relief from an order denying his motion to quash the prosecutors subpoena and allowing release of his psychotherapy records. His petition raised an issue of first impression in the area of prosecutorial discovery: whether records of psychotherapy which was ordered as a condition of probation are protected from disclosure in a subsequent criminal proceeding where the prosecutor seeks their admission as evidence of a previous sex offense, under Evidence Code section 1108. Story argued that the records were subject to the psychotherapist-patient privilege, and the appellate court here agreed and issued a writ of mandate. The motive for participating in psychotherapy is immaterial to determining whether the psychotherapist-patient privilege attaches. The fact that a defendant participated in therapy as a condition of probation doesnt bar application of the privilege to the records of that psychotherapy.
Case Summaries