Commonwealth v. Kennedy

604 A.2d 1036, 413 Pa. Super. 95
Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided March 23, 1992·No. 474·Published·Cited by 49 cases

Opinions

FORD ELLIOTT, Judge:

Michael Kennedy appeals from the judgment of sentence entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County following his conviction for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of minors, and indecent assault. See 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 3123, 6301, 3126. The convictions stem from three incidents of sexual assault by appellant upon his step-daughter. We vacate and remand.

Prior to appellant’s trial, defense counsel attempted to discover the victim’s file in the possession of Child Protective Services (“CPS”), a division of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (“DHS”)1, and also sought to review the contents of the child’s record of counseling sessions with a licensed psychotherapist. The pre-trial motions judge, the Honorable Joseph T. Murphy, denied defense counsel’s request and held that pursuant to our decision in Commonwealth v. Kyle, 367 Pa.Super. 484, 533 A.2d 120 (1987), the psychologist-client privilege was absolute, thereby prohibiting review of the psychotherapist’s records by the trial court itself. Subsequently, however, Judge Murphy did conduct an in camera review of all of [99] the victim’s records. He determined that the records contained “nothing in them that is material to the defense.” The trial court, the Honorable Caroline Engel Temin presiding, also denied appellant’s request for access to the victim’s records but she too conducted an in camera review of both the DHS file and the psychotherapist’s records and found “[no] information relevant to the defense.”

Following a jury conviction, timely post-verdict motions were filed and denied and thereafter the trial court imposed sentence. Subsequently, appellant filed an appeal to this court. We sua sponte certified this appeal for en banc review in order to address appellant’s contention that his state constitutional rights of confrontation of witnesses and compulsory process, which are guaranteed in Article I, Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution,2 were violated when defense counsel was denied access to the victim’s counselling records and psychotherapist files.3

PART I

WHETHER AN ACCUSED’S STATE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF CONFRONTATION AND COMPULSORY PROCESS ARE IMPLICATED WHEN DEFENSE COUNSEL IS DENIED TOTAL ACCESS TO DHS RECORDS COMPILED PURSUANT TO CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICE LAW

When faced with an issue raising both constitutional and nonconstitutional questions, we must make a determi[100] nation on non-constitutional grounds if possible and avoid the constitutional question. In re B., 482 Pa. 471, 394 A.2d 419 (1978); Commonwealth v. Staley, 476 Pa. 171, 381 A.2d 1280 (1978). In line with this mandate, while we agree with appellant that the trial court’s in camera review of the CPS files and records was error and therefore reverse and remand for a new trial, we do so on the basis of the language of the Child Protective Service Law (“CPSL”), 11 Pa.S.A. § 2201 et seq., itself4 and not based on a violation of appellant’s constitutional rights as enunciated in our Supreme Court’s recent decision in Commonwealth v. Lloyd, 523 Pa. 427, 567 A.2d 1357 (1989).

The stated purpose of the CPSL is found at § 2202. § 2202. Findings and purpose
Abused children are in urgent need of an effective child protective service to prevent them from suffering further injury and impairment. It is the purpose of this act to encourage more complete reporting of suspected child abuse and to establish in each county a child protective service capable of investigating such reports swiftly and competently, providing protection for children from further abuse and providing rehabilitative services for children and parents involved so as to ensure the child’s well-being and to preserve and stabilize family life wherever appropriate. However, nothing in this act shall be construed to restrict the generally recognized existing rights of parents to use reasonable supervision and control when raising their children.

The policy underlying this fundamental purpose is to allow for the reporting and investigating of allegations of child abuse and misuse. There is little question that a determination of “abuse founded” or “abuse indicated” may form the basis for a criminal prosecution for child sexual abuse, and therefore there can be little disagreement that [101] information contained in these files is of critical importance to the accused. See Sections 2215(9) and (10). Because of the serious implications of a report of abuse, the act requires that files, reports, and information compiled during an investigation remain confidential. The confidentiality provisions are for the protection of the person reporting the abuse, the alleged victim, and the alleged perpetrator; and consistent with the purposes of the Act, these provisions shield the investigation from all other prying eyes.

Pennsylvania’s CPSL addresses child abuse committed by parents or paramours of a parent; the hope was that county agencies could work with the victim, perpetrator and other family members toward the goal of maintaining the family while eradicating the abuse. Consequently, the law included stringent safeguards to ensure confidentiality of the information contained in the child abuse registry. However, demands made on the legislature during the past several years have resulted in the creation of exceptions to confidentiality provisions.

Beaty & Wooley, Child Molester Need Not Apply: A History of Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law and Legislative Efforts to Prevent the Hiring of Abusers by Child Care Agencies, 89 Dick.L.Rev. 669, 669-670 (1985).

Section 2215 defined the parameters of the confidentiality under the Act specifically designating to whom information may be disclosed. Pursuant to § 2215(a), certain information contained in the files by CPS may be disclosed to specified agencies and individuals. This subsection, as originally enacted, allowed for only five exceptions. However, as noted in the commentary above, this subsection was amended in 1982 to allow for additional exceptions.5 [102] But while § 2215(a) allows access to file information under specific circumstances to persons and agencies outside the circle of privacy created by the Act, § 2215(b) allows almost complete access to file information to any person included within that circle of privacy. Under 11 P.S. § 2215(b) it states as follows: “At any time, a subject of a report may receive, upon written request, a copy of all information except that prohibited from being disclosed by Subsection (c), contained in the Statewide central register or in any report filed pursuant to Section 6.”

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Commonwealth v. Kennedy, 604 A.2d 1036, 413 Pa. Super. 95 (Pa. Ct. App. 1992).

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