Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

unethical therapist?

my boyfriend and i sought the help of a therapist immediately following a domestic assault. she agreed not to report the assault under certain conditions. to make a long story short, those conditions were not upheld by my boyfriend and she went with me to make a police report approximately two weeks after the incident occured. of course the state has pressed charges and he is scheduled to go to trial next week. she saw the bruises as well as heard admissions from us both regarding what happened. she is going to be called as a witness by the state. my boyfriend is planning to file a class action lawsuit against her and if she testifies and he is convicted an appeal. i signed a waiver when we first saw her and he claims he did not. i'm concerned for her as i feel she was trying to help us and it makes me feel sick that her practice could be penalized for that. so my question is can she testify and if she does is she breaching dr./patient confidentiality hepa laws if she testifies to what she saw (bruises and cuts) as well as what i told her in sessions? she already gave a statement to the police regarding that. i am considering begging the prosecution to call the whole thing off if she is at risk. thank you


Asked on 4/23/09, 7:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James J. White, attorney Law Offices of Smith & White, PLLC

Re: unethical therapist?

She's more likely to be in trouble for waiting the two weeks to report the crime than for reporting it. Most medical professionals have a mandatory reporting requirement related to criminal activity. So, she's not going to be in any trouble from testifying for you. If anything, she'll be in trouble for giving your boyfriend the two weeks to begin with.

At your service,

Read more
Answered on 4/24/09, 5:04 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Criminal Law questions and answers in Washington