§ 2785 — Court authorization for disclosure of confidential HIV related information

§ 2785. Court authorization for disclosure of confidential HIV related\ninformation. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no court\nshall issue an order for the disclosure of confidential HIV related\ninformation, except a court of record of competent jurisdiction in\naccordance with the provisions of this section.\n 2. A court may grant an order for disclosure of confidential HIV\nrelated information upon an application showing: (a) a compelling need\nfor disclosure of the information for the adjudication of a criminal or\ncivil proceeding; (b) a clear and imminent danger to an individual whose\nlife or health may unknowingly be at significant risk as a result of\ncontact with the individual to whom the information pertains; (c) upon\napplication of a state, county or local health officer, a clear and\nimminent danger to the public health; or (d) that the applicant is\nlawfully entitled to the disclosure and the disclosure is consistent\nwith the provisions of this article.\n 3. Upon receiving an application for an order authorizing disclosure\npursuant to this section, the court shall enter an order directing that\nall pleadings, papers, affidavits, judgments, orders of the court,\nbriefs and memoranda of law which are part of the application or the\ndecision thereon, be sealed and not made available to any person, except\nto the extent necessary to conduct any proceedings in connection with\nthe determination of whether to grant or deny the application, including\nany appeal. Such an order shall further direct that all subsequent\nproceedings in connection with the application shall be conducted in\ncamera, and, where appropriate to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of\nconfidential HIV related information, that any pleadings, papers,\naffidavits, judgments, orders of the court, briefs and memoranda of law\nwhich are part of the application or the decision thereon not state the\nname of the individual concerning whom confidential HIV related\ninformation is sought.\n 4. (a) The individual concerning whom confidential HIV related\ninformation is sought and any person holding records concerning\nconfidential HIV related information from whom disclosure is sought\nshall be given adequate notice of such application in a manner which\nwill not disclose to any other person the identity of the individual,\nand shall be afforded an opportunity to file a written response to the\napplication, or to appear in person for the limited purpose of providing\nevidence on the statutory criteria for the issuance of an order pursuant\nto this section.\n (b) The court may grant an order without such notice and opportunity\nto be heard, where an ex parte application by a public health officer\nshows that a clear and imminent danger to an individual whose life or\nhealth may unknowingly be at risk requires an immediate order.\n (c) Service of a subpoena shall not be subject to this subdivision.\n 5. In assessing compelling need and clear and imminent danger, the\ncourt shall provide written findings of fact, including scientific or\nmedical findings, citing specific evidence in the record which supports\neach finding, and shall weigh the need for disclosure against the\nprivacy interest of the protected individual and the public interest\nwhich may be disserved by disclosure which deters future testing or\ntreatment or which may lead to discrimination.\n 6. An order authorizing disclosure of confidential HIV related\ninformation shall:\n (a) limit disclosure to that information which is necessary to fulfill\nthe purpose for which the order is granted; and\n (b) limit disclosure to those persons whose need for the information\nis the basis for the order, and specifically prohibit redisclosure by\nsuch persons to any other persons, whether or not they are parties to\nthe action; and\n (c) to the extent possible consistent with this section, conform to\nthe provisions of this article; and\n (d) include such other measures as the court deems necessary to limit\nany disclosures not authorized by its order.\n