Tracy Will Vaughn v. State of Arkansas

2019 Ark. App. 361

• Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas
• Decided: September 4, 2019
• Status: Published

Opinion

Cite as 2019 Ark. App. 361 Digitally signed by Elizabeth Perry ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS Date: 2022.07.22 10:35:40 No. CR-19-591 -05'00' Adobe Acrobat version: 2022.001.20169 Opinion Delivered: September 4, 2019 TRACY WILL VAUGHN APPELLANT MOTION FOR ACCESS TO SEALED MATERIAL V.

STATE OF ARKANSAS

APPELLEE MOTION GRANTED

PER CURIAM

Appellant Tracy Will Vaughn was convicted of one count of sexual assault in the

second degree. Vaughn filed a motion for access to sealed material with this court on July

26, 2019. At issue is whether Vaughn is entitled to access the sealed counseling records of

his accuser in order to develop his point on appeal that the circuit court erred in denying

him access and that he was prejudiced by such denial of access.

Vaughn requested access to the records because the accuser conceded in her

testimony at trial that her version of events changed as a result of the counseling in that she

was now claiming incidents had occurred that she had previously denied. The circuit court

held an in-camera review of the counseling records, denied Vaughn access, and placed the

sealed exhibits in the record. Vaughn contends that access to the counseling records is

necessary in order to determine whether the circuit court erred in denying access and

whether such a denial was prejudicial to him. We grant Vaughn leave to review the sealed

counseling records. However, we direct Vaughn to maintain the confidentiality of these documents. If Vaughn finds it necessary to abstract, quote, discuss, or otherwise disclose

the sealed documents or their contents in his brief, he must do so in a separate addendum

to his brief filed with the clerk of this court under seal.

Motion granted.