State v. Paradee

• Decision Date: 10 April 1987
• Docket Number: No. C3-86-1611,C3-86-1611
• Citation: 403 N.W.2d 640
• Parties: STATE of Minnesota, Petitioner, Appellant, v. Patrick Vincent PARADEE, Respondent.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Page 640

403 N.W.2d 640

STATE of Minnesota, Petitioner, Appellant, v. Patrick Vincent PARADEE, Respondent.

No. C3-86-1611.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

April 10, 1987.

Syllabus of the Court

When a criminal defendant seeks discovery of privileged material and it is not clear to the trial court that the material is discoverable, the trial court should examine the material in camera to determine if it is discoverable.

Hubert H. Humphrey, III, Atty. Gen., Robert A. Stanich, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., St. Paul, Thomas J. Simmons, Renville Co. Atty., Nancy L. Logering, Asst. Renville Co. Atty., Olivia, for appellant.

Donald H. Walser, Olivia, for respondent.

Considered and decided by the court en banc without oral argument.

AMDAHL, Chief Justice.

We granted the state's petition for review in order to decide whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming a pretrial order of the trial court allowing defense counsel access to confidential county welfare records which defense counsel contends might contain something of use to the defense. We reverse the decisions of the Court of Appeals and of the trial court and remand to the trial court for further proceedings, including an in camera examination of the confidential records by the trial court.

Defendant is charged with criminal sexual conduct for allegedly sexually penetrating two of his nieces. Defendant has been given full access to all the medical records relating directly to this case. But he alleges generally that confidential records concerning the welfare department's investigation of an earlier incident involving one of the nieces and another man might contain something of use in his defense. Specifically, the defense seeks access to "all department records, reports, notes, files and other documents relating to contacts with the alleged victims and their family members." The state's contention is that the trial court should examine the confidential records in camera and determine if any of the information is relevant to this case. However, the Court of Appeals, affirming the trial court, held that defense counsel himself must be given access to the records to see if any of the information is relevant to the defense. State v. Paradee, 398 N.W.2d 647 (Minn.App.1987). The Court of Appeals reasoned that "[o]nly the defense counsel can accurately determine which documents may be helpful in the defense of a given case." 398 N.W.2d at 650.

In reaching this decision, the Court of Appeals relied heavily on a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in a case similar to this one, Commonwealth v. Ritchie, 509 Pa. 357, 502 A.2d 148 (1985), a case which the United States Supreme Court had agreed to review but had not yet decided. After we granted review in this case, the United States Supreme Court filed its decision reversing the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision. Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 989, 94 L.Ed.2d 40 (1987). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had held that by denying the defendant access to confidential welfare records, the trial court violated both the confrontation and the compulsory process clauses of the Sixth Amendment and that the defendant's conviction of child sex abuse charges must be vacated and the case remanded to see if a new trial was needed. The Pennsylvania court held further that defense counsel was entitled to review the entire confidential welfare file himself. The United States Supreme Court reasoned (a) that under federal due process principles the government has the obligation to turn over evidence in its possession that is both favorable to the accused and material to the determination of guilt or punishment, (b) that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court erred in holding that defense counsel must be allowed to examine the confidential records in question, and (c) that both the defendant's and the state's interests in ensuring a fair trial can be protected by having the trial court review the confidential records in camera to determine if they contain favorable and material information. With respect to the last two points, the Court stated specifically:

We find that [the defendant's] interest (as well as that of the Commonwealth) in ensuring a fair trial can be protected fully by requiring that the [confidential] files be submitted only to the trial court for in camera review. Although this rule denies [the defendant] the benefits of an "advocate's eye," we note that the trial court's discretion is not unbounded. If a defendant is aware of specific information contained in the file * * *, he is free to request it directly from the court, and argue in favor of its materiality. Moreover, the duty to disclose is ongoing; information that may be deemed immaterial upon original examination may become important as the proceedings progress, and the court would be obligated to release information material to the fairness of the trial.

To allow full disclosure to defense counsel in this type of case would sacrifice unnecessarily the Commonwealth's compelling interest in protecting its child abuse information. If the [confidential] records were made available to defendants, even through counsel, it could have a seriously adverse effect on Pennsylvania's efforts to uncover and treat abuse. Child abuse is one of the most difficult crimes to detect and prosecute, in large part because there often are no witnesses except the victim. A child's feelings of vulnerability and guilt, and his or her unwillingness to come forward are...