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Article: New York's immediate need for a psychotherapist-patient privilege encompassing psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.
- Article from:
- Albany Law Review
- Article date:
- June 22, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Albany Law School. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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INTRODUCTION
Accused of strangling his girlfriend Gloria to death, Robert Wilkins testified at trial that his girlfriend had attacked him first, causing him to suffer visible slashes on his left wrist and on his abdomen. (1) Attempting to contradict Wilkins's allegations, the People sought to introduce the testimony of Dr. K.C. Sharma, a licensed psychologist, to reveal that Wilkins admitted to Dr. Sharma that such wounds were not the result of an attack by Gloria but instead were the remnants of a botched suicide attempt. (2) Significantly, the New York Court of Appeals deemed such testimony inadmissible solely because of Dr. Sharma's status as a psychologist. ...