State v. Lammi

375 P.3d 547, 278 Or. App. 690
CourtCircuit Court of the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Florida, Columbia County
DecidedSeptember 14, 2016
Docket111119; A154933
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 375 P.3d 547 (State v. Lammi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Circuit Court of the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Florida, Columbia County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Lammi, 375 P.3d 547, 278 Or. App. 690 (Fla. Super. Ct. 2016).

Opinion

LAGESEN, J.

A jury convicted defendant of 47 sex offenses against his daughter, E, and the trial court sentenced him to a sum of 600 months’ incarceration. On appeal from the judgment of conviction and sentence, defendant raises three assignments of error. We reject two of those assignments of error without written discussion. As to the third, in which defendant challenges the trial court’s refusal to conduct an in camera review of E’s counseling records to determine whether those records contained evidence relevant to the charges against defendant, we conclude that the trial court erred by not conducting the requested in camera review. For that reason, we vacate and remand for the trial court to conduct the requested in camera review and, depending on the outcome of that review, to either reinstate the judgment or to determine whether defendant is entitled to a new trial under the framework established by the Supreme Court in State v. Cartwright, 336 Or 408, 85 P3d 305 (2004).

The charges against defendant arose after one of defendant’s friends observed interactions between defendant and E, and was told things about their relationship, that caused the friend to be concerned that the relationship between defendant and E was sexual. After failed attempts to discuss those concerns with defendant, the friend met with E’s school principal to discuss his concerns. After the meeting, the principal reported the suspected abuse to DHS, which led to a police investigation. During the course of that investigation, Officer Manning interviewed the friend, E, and defendant. Manning then arrested defendant.

After defendant’s arrest, E went to the Amani Center, a child abuse assessment center, where a forensic interview was conducted. During that interview, E described touching that happened while E was asleep, or in a dreamlike state. E also stated she did not “think” that sex had ever happened to her, but did describe her breast and vagina being touched. E also recounted a time that she had told a friend about her concerns that defendant would get into trouble if defendant had “actually [done] this stuff to [her].” After her interview at the Amani Center, E began receiving counseling at Columbia County Mental Health (CCMH).

[692]*692During trial, defendant subpoenaed E’s CCMH records. The state and E opposed the subpoena. The trial court ordered that the records be delivered to the court, but deferred deciding whether to conduct an in camera review of those records. E moved to quash the subpoena, arguing that the records were privileged and that defendant had not identified an exception that would permit disclosure of the records. Citing relevant cases on the point, E noted further that, to be entitled to an in camera review of the records, defendant would have to show that the inspection might yield relevant evidence to which an exception to the privilege would apply.

Following E’s submission of her motion, the court heard additional arguments regarding whether to conduct an in camera review of the records. Pointing to State v. Reed, 173 Or App 185, 197, 21 P3d 137, rev den, 332 Or 559 (2001), E, joined by the state, argued that defendant had not made the required threshold showing “that the inspection *** might yield evidence [that] an [exception] to the nondisclosure rule applies.” In response, defendant argued that he was entitled to such an inspection because E’s equivocal statements during the Amani Center interview about whether the abuse, in fact, had occurred made it reasonable to think that E might have made similar equivocal statements about the abuse during her CCMH counseling sessions:

“I do want to at least tell the court that as the court saw when the Amani Center person, Miss Kauffman, interviewed [E], that [E] said sometimes, ‘If he did it.’ That, I believe is something—gives us an indication that there is doubt in her mind that may well be reflected in her statements to her therapist, and so I would like to know whether or not in fact her doubts have been expressed again in a clinical setting.”

The trial court declined to conduct an in camera review of the records, concluding that defendant had not made a showing that the records might contain exculpatory evidence subject to disclosure notwithstanding the psychotherapist-patient privilege.

On appeal, defendant argues that the trial court erred by not conducting an in camera review of E’s CCMH [693]*693records. Pointing to Reed, and State v. Hansen, 304 Or 169, 743 P2d 157 (1987), defendant argues that the trial court was required to conduct an in camera review of the CCMH records for exculpatory evidence. Defendant contends that, under ORS 419B.040(1),1 as interpreted in Reed, the trial court was required to conduct a review of the records if he demonstrated that those records “‘might yield’ exculpatory evidence regarding a child’s abuse.” That statute provides that, in a case of child abuse, the psychotherapist-patient privilege does not operate to exclude evidence about the abuse.

As the Supreme Court explained in Hansen, that statute authorizes the disclosure of both exculpatory and inculpatory evidence of child abuse, notwithstanding the fact that the evidence otherwise would be covered by the psychotherapist-patient privilege. 304 Or at 179. Defendant asserts that he adequately demonstrated that the CCMH files “might yield” exculpatory evidence regarding E’s abuse, by showing that E started counseling after the Amani Center interview and after defendant’s arrest (making it reasonable to think both that E talked about the abuse in counseling, and that her records might reflect those statements), and by showing that E made equivocal statements about whether the abuse occurred during the Amani Center interview (making it reasonable to think that E’s counseling records might contain similar, exculpatory statements calling into question whether the abuse transpired).

The state, in response, argues that defendant failed to preserve his argument that ORS 419B.040(1) would authorize the disclosure of evidence contained in E’s CCMH counseling records, notwithstanding the fact that those records are otherwise protected by the psychotherapist-patient privilege. Alternatively, the state argues that the trial court correctly concluded that defendant had failed to [694]*694make the required threshold showing necessary to be entitled to an in camera review.

As to preservation, we disagree with the state that defendant failed to preserve his argument on appeal. Although the state is correct that defendant did not specifically cite to ÓRS 419B.040(1) in his arguments to the trial court, the parties framed their arguments to the trial court in terms of Reed, which explains what standard a defendant in a child abuse case must satisfy to obtain an in camera review of the counseling records of a child abuse victim. 173 Or App at 197. The trial court’s oral ruling indicated that it understood that defendant would be entitled to an in camera review of the counseling records if defendant made a sufficient threshold showing that those records might contain exculpatory evidence related to the abuse.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
375 P.3d 547, 278 Or. App. 690, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lammi-flacirct3col-2016.