Petition of Sheridan

• Decision Date: 08 May 1992
• Citation: 591 N.E.2d 193,412 Mass. 599
• Parties: Petition of James W. SHERIDAN.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

Page 193

591 N.E.2d 193

412 Mass. 599

Petition of James W. SHERIDAN.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts,

Berkshire.

Argued March 4, 1992.

Decided May 8, 1992.

Sondra H. Schmidt, Cohasset, for petitioner.

Nancy W. Geary, Asst. Atty. General, for the Com.

Before LIACOS, C.J., and WILKINS, NOLAN, LYNCH and O'CONNOR, JJ.

NOLAN, Justice.

The petitioner, James W. Sheridan, appeals from the dismissal of his petition under G.L. c. 123A, § 9 (1988 ed.), for discharge from the treatment center at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Bridgewater (treatment center). The petitioner claims that the Superior Court judge erred in ruling that his refusal to appear for court-ordered interviews on the basis of the patient-psychotherapist privilege (G.L. c. 233, § 20B [1990 ed.] ) warranted dismissal of his petition under c. 123A, § 9. We transferred the appeal here on our own motion and now affirm the judgment.

On October 26, 1984, the petitioner was committed for a period of from one day to life to the treatment center, having been determined at that time to be a sexually dangerous person ¹ as defined by G.L. c. 123A, § 6 (1988 ed.) (repealed by St.1990, c. 150, § 304). ² On May 13, 1988, the petitioner filed for examination and discharge from the treatment center, pursuant to G.L. c. 123A, § 9. ³ In November of 1990, two qualified mental health professionals, appointed by the Commissioner of Mental Health (commissioner), informed the petitioner that each would meet with him in December to conduct an interview pursuant to c. 123A, § 9. See note 3, supra. By letters dated November 29, 1990, and December 6, 1990, the petitioner informed both examiners that he was exercising his rights under Commonwealth v. Lamb, 365 Mass. 265, 311 N.E.2d 47 (1974), and was unwilling, therefore, to meet with them. See G.L. c. 233, § 20B (1990 ed.) ⁴ (patient-psychotherapist privilege). Subsequently, the Commonwealth moved to dismiss the § 9 petition on the ground that the petitioner refused, without good cause, to meet with the examiners, thereby preventing the Commonwealth from accurately assessing his mental and emotional condition. See note 3, supra. The petitioner opposed the Commonwealth's motion, arguing that dismissal of the petition in this circumstance would render meaningless the patient-psychotherapist privilege. The petitioner also argued that the Commonwealth did not need to conduct interviews to assess his present mental health and fitness for release from the center, since his treatment file contained all relevant information.

After conducting an evidentiary hearing on the motion to dismiss, the judge concluded that the Commonwealth was entitled to dismissal of the petition because the petitioner had refused, without good cause, to meet with the examiners. ⁵ The judge acknowledged that a patient who seeks discharge from the treatment center under c. 123A, § 9, such as the petitioner, has the right under G.L. c. 233, § 20B, to keep privileged any communications made to a psychotherapist in the case of a court-ordered examination, absent a showing that the patient waived such privilege. Commonwealth v. Lamb, supra at 270, 311 N.E.2d 47. However, the judge ruled, G.L. c. 123A, § 9, requires that, in any event, the petitioner first appear before two qualified examiners appointed by the commissioner. The judge explained that a petitioner properly may refuse to provide any information to the examiners at that time. Such a refusal, the judge opined, does not entitle the Commonwealth to dismissal under § 9. Rather, the Commonwealth is entitled to dismissal, the judge concluded, where, as in the instant case, the petitioner refused to attend the scheduled examinations.

On appeal, the petitioner challenges this ruling, arguing that dismissal of his petition operates as a penalty against him for having invoked the protections of the patient-psychotherapist privilege. Further, the petitioner complains that dismissal of his petition impinges on his exercise of the right against self-incrimination under the State and Federal Constitutions. According to the petitioner, § 9 mandates that treatment center patients submit to personal interviews with qualified examiners or forfeit the right to pursue their petitions. This choice, the petitioner contends, improperly forces the patients either to waive the patient-psychotherapist privilege and receive a hearing on the § 9 petition, or to invoke the privilege and forfeit procedural due process. In this way, the petitioner asserts that the provisions of § 9 effectively deny him the right not to provide any information to the Commonwealth's examiners under G.L. c. 233, § 20B. Commonwealth v. Lamb, 365 Mass. 265, 270, 311 N.E.2d 47 (1974). The petitioner maintains that he can neither be denied the right to refuse to communicate with the Commonwealth's examiners nor be penalized for doing so. The petitioner notes that in a § 9 proceeding the Commonwealth bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a person is sexually dangerous at the time of the hearing, and such person is not obligated to present any evidence on this issue whatsoever. Andrews, petitioner, 368 Mass. 468, 485-486, 334 N.E.2d 15 (1975). The petitioner argues that the effect of the dismissal under § 9, however, is to shift the burden of proof in § 9 proceedings from the Commonwealth to the petitioner, impermissibly forcing him to prove that he is no longer sexually dangerous. Lastly, the petitioner contends that the judge's attempt to harmonize his rights with the statute results in a meaningless interpretation of § 9, whereby it requires that a treatment center patient appear at scheduled examinations, in order to preserve his right to a hearing and prevent his petition from being dismissed, regardless of whether he intends to participate. The petitioner urges that his mere presence at such examinations assists the Commonwealth in meeting its burden of proof by allowing a trained examiner to scrutinize his manner, appearance, and behavior at that time, amounting to compelled self-incrimination.

The petitioner's arguments are not without appeal. Clearly, the amendment to c. 123A, § 9, reflects a legislative determination that § 9 petitioners should be interviewed by qualified examiners before being considered for release from the treatment center. This policy seems to conflict directly with the petitioner's right to invoke the patient-psychotherapist privilege, and the dismissal provision could be viewed as compelling the petitioner to disclose information which may lead to a conclusion that he remains sexually dangerous. However, we must interpret § 9 in light of the primary objective of c. 123A, which is to care for, treat, and, it is hoped, rehabilitate the sexually dangerous person, while at the same time protecting society from this person's violent, aggressive, and compulsive behaviors. Commissioner of Correction v. McCabe, 410 Mass. 847, 852-853, 576 N.E.2d 654 (1991), quoting Commonwealth v. Hogan, 341 Mass. 372, 376, 170 N.E.2d 327 (1960). Commonwealth v. Rodriguez, 376 Mass. 632, 646, 382 N.E.2d 725 (1978) (the purpose of c. 123A is to "[protect] the public against future antisocial behavior by the offender, and of doing all that can be done to rehabilitate him"). We are not passing on whether the amendment overrides the patient-psychotherapist privilege. As so construed, we do not pass on the constitutionality of the amendment.

In effecting the remedial purposes of c. 123A, the Legislature has the freedom to condition the discharge of a sexually dangerous person, in order "to prevent [that] individual, whom a judge has determined to be sexually dangerous, from being returned to society without having been successfully treated for his condition." Commissioner of Correction v. McCabe, supra, 410 Mass. at 852, 576 N.E.2d 654. Requiring sexually dangerous persons to submit to personal interviews prior to considering them for discharge may be the most effective means of advancing the statutory goals. However, the ability of the Legislature so to condition a patient's discharge is limited by the patient-psychotherapist privilege, which prevents the government from compelling the disclosure of communications made by a person under c. 123A custody to a psychiatrist appointed to examine him and report to the court. Commonwealth v. Lamb, supra, 365 Mass. at 266, 311 N.E.2d 47. Indeed, patients involved in c. 123A proceedings must be notified of their right to claim the patient-psychotherapist privilege, which includes the option to decline to speak with the Commonwealth's examiners. Id. See Commonwealth v. Gomes, 355 Mass. 479, 484, 245 N.E.2d 429 (1969).

When drafting the 1987 amendment to § 9, the Legislature understood the relationship between a § 9 petitioner's rights and the...