Citation

Behnke SH. J. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law 1998; 26(4): 639-648.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. sbehnke@warren.med.harvard.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Publisher American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9894220

Abstract

This article discusses what happens to testimonial privilege following a patient's death. First, the article reviews the concepts of confidentiality and testimonial privilege. Second, the article discusses the case of Jaffe v. Redmond, in which the Supreme Court ruled that testimonial privilege applies to licensed psychotherapists under Rule 501 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. Third, the article examines the case of Swidler & Berlin v. United States, in which the Supreme Court directly addressed the question of whether testimonial privilege survives death. Finally, the article comments on the implications of these rulings for mental health professionals.

Language: en