Evidence keyed to Waltz
Jaffee v. Redmond
Facts
On June 27, 1991, the Respondent, responded to a fight at an apartment complex. The Respondent shot Mr. Allen believing he was about to stab a man he was chasing. The administrator of Mr. Allen’s estate, the Petitioner, filed suit in Federal District Court alleging the Respondent violated Mr. Allen’s constitutional rights by using excessive force. During discovery, the Petitioner learned that the Respondent participated in 50 counseling sessions with a clinical social worker, Karen Beyer (“Ms. Beyer”). The Petitioner sought access to the notes taken by Ms. Beyer during those sessions and the Respondent resisted their discovery arguing that disclosure should be prevented because of a psychotherapist-patient privilege. The district judge allowed the discovery, but neither Ms. Beyer nor the Respondent complied with the request. The judge advised the jury that the refusal to turn over Ms. Beyer’s notes could be considered a presumption that the content of the notes would hav e been unfavorable to the Respondent. The jury awarded the Petitioner $45,000 on the federal claim and $500,000 on her state-law claim. The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (“Seventh Circuit”) reversed and remanded for a new trial concluding that a psychotherapist-patient privilege should be recognized.
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