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Absent Claim for Emotional Damages, Prisoner’s Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege Remains Intact
Loaded on Aug. 15, 2009
published in Prison Legal News
August, 2009, page 42
The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has entered a detailed opinion on the issue of psychotherapist-patient privilege when a district court is confronted with a request by prison officials to obtain a prisoner’s psychiatric records in discovery in a civil rights action. The appellate court concluded the privilege could …
Filed under:
Medical,
Medical Records,
Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA),
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Damages,
Evidentiary Ruling,
Discovery,
Mandamus.
Location:
New York.
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More from this issue:
- Judge Not: Judges Benched for Personal Misconduct
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- FedCURE Entitled to Fee Waiver for FOIA Request, by Brandon Sample
- Violence on the Rise in BOP Facilities, by Brandon Sample
- Judge Sonia Sotomayor Denied My Appeal and I Spent 16 Years in Prison for a Crime I Didn’t Commit, by Jeffrey Deskovic
- Oregon Prosecutes Teen to Avoid Liability; Bizarre 2 1/2 Year Legal Battle Ends, by Mark Wilson
- A Bridge Between The Ivy League And The Jailhouse: An Interview with Brett Dignam, Clinical Professor of Law and Supervising Attorney at Yale Law School, by Todd Matthews
- Florida’s Private Prisons Still Lack Meaningful Oversight, by David Reutter
- Motions to Oust California Prison System’s Federal Healthcare Receiver Denied, by John Dannenberg
- 15 Guards Charged with Assaulting Maryland Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Oregon’s Criminal Justice Economic Recovery Plan: Keep Digging!, by Mark Wilson
- Indiana Lifelong Violent Offender Registration Preliminary Injunction Upheld in Part
- $1,423,127 in Attorney Fees Awarded in Taser Suit; Damages Reduced
- Report Recommends Lawmakers Reinstate College Programs in Prison, by David Reutter
- Report Concludes Hispanics Receiving a Greater Share of Federal Sentences, by David Reutter
- Improper Classification that Resulted in Seattle Jail Beating Settles for $37,500
- Jailhouse Lawyers: Prisoners Defending Prisoners v. The U.S.A., by Mumia Abu-Jamal, Published by City Lights Publishers, ISBN 978-0-8728646-9-6; 286 Pages; $16.95, by Gary Hunter
- Reopened Abu Ghraib Prison Haunted by its Past
- $10,000 Settlement for Bunk Bed Railing Hitting Prisoner
- $2.1 Million Award in California Prisoner’s Choking Death
- Poaching Boast Lands Oregon Prison Guard in Hot Water; Pulls State Trooper Father Down with Him, by Mark Wilson
- Utah Evaluates Drug Program Pilot; Recommends Further Evaluation, by David Reutter
- $100,000 Settlement in Illegal Imprisonment Caused by Massachusetts’ Failure to Implement Court Order, by David Reutter
- Vermont Supreme Court: “Nutraloaf” Diet Is Punishment that Requires Hearing
- Ohio Parole Authority Ordered to Grant Hearings that Provide Meaningful Parole Consideration, by David Reutter
- $250,000 Award in Mississippi False Imprisonment Suit
- Vendor Crushed by Seattle Jail Door Receives $43,525 for Injuries
- Study Shows Few Texas Prisoners Transition Well to Community HIV Treatment
- Highest Criminal Appeals Judge in Texas Faces Removal Hearing
- Audit Report Finds Michigan Prisoner Transportation System Wasteful, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Suit Alleging Excessive Force, Retaliation and Inadequate Medical Care; Settles for $15,000
- Seventh Circuit Vacates Dismissal for Failure to Prosecute; $50,000 + Fees Awarded Following Remand
- Illinois Court of Appeals: Prisoner Has Standing to Sue Ameritech for Fraud
- AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio Loses Three Public Records Cases
- Colorado Florists Decry Prison Retail Flower Business, by David Reutter
- Missouri Public Defenders Not Immune from Client Suits
- OK Prisoners Released from Custody Despite Deportation Detainers
- Allowing Others to Attack Prisoner, Making Credible Death Threats, Labeling Prisoner a Snitch Violate Eighth Amendment
- Nebraska: Tape-Recorded, Restricted-Calling Prison Telephone System Passes Constitutional Muster, by John Dannenberg
- Absent Claim for Emotional Damages, Prisoner’s Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege Remains Intact
- Prolonged Bench Restraint and Excessive Pepper Spraying Requires Trial
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Prisoner’s Environmental Tobacco Smoke Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Prison Guards’ Convictions Affirmed in Sex Scandal, by David Reutter
- $150,000 Settlement In Missouri Jail Suicide Suit
- First Circuit Upholds BOP’s Discretion to Limit Halfway House Placement
- Ninth Circuit: Orange County Jail Violated Ad Seg Prisoners’ ADA, Religious and Exercise Rights, by John Dannenberg
- Fourth Circuit Upholds Prisoner Exclusion in Virginia FOIA
- Eleventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Challenge to Florida DOC Ban on Pen Pal Requests
- Eleventh Circuit Unpublished Decision on PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Requirements Trumped by Published Ruling
- Ohio Supreme Court Rules Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Not Retroactive, by Matthew Clarke
- Denial of Bedding, Clothes to Florida Prisoner States Claim
- News in Brief:
- Alabama Raises Rates Charged for Prisoner Labor
- District Court Erred in Sua Sponte Dismissal of Prisoner’s Challenge to Conditions of Confinement
More from these topics:
- BOP Prisoner’s Claim Over Denied Medical Care Ruled Impermissible Bivens Extension, Oct. 1, 2026. OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Grievances, Adequacy of Remedy.
- San Francisco Jail Survey Exposes Abuse, Malnutrition and Constitutional Violations, Oct. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Food, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Attorney Visits, Pretrial Detention and Detainees.
- $4,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Records Requests, Oct. 1, 2026. Damages, Retroactivity, Public Records Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- Eleventh Circuit Affirms Refusal to Expand Bivens to Claim Alleging Federal Prisoner Died from Denial of Treatment for Hepatitis C, Oct. 1, 2026. Medical, Eighth Amendment, Administrative Exhaustion, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Deliberate Indifference.
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Obstruction of Justice.
- Fourth Circuit: Error in Granting Judgment Prior to Adjudging Spoliation Motion, Sept. 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Discovery, Abuse of Discretion Standard.
- Eight Circuit Reverses Denial of Partial Qualified Immunity in Detainee’s Pepper Ball Claim, Remands Excessive Force Claims, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Four Massachusetts Guards Face Charges for Assault on Prisoners During Brawl, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026. Disclosure of Records, Discovery, Public Records, State Legislation, Method of Execution.
- Last of 11 Guards Sentenced in Death of New York Prisoner, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), False Statements/Perjury, Obstruction of Justice.

