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Court weighs when therapy records may be produced: Rule 17 dispute in Smith appeal
Summary
Commonwealth v. J. Aaron Smith — Appeals argument focused on whether trial counsel established the factual showing required to obtain a sexual‑assault victim’s therapy records under Rule 17 and the Lampron/Dwyer line of cases.
Commonwealth v. J. Aaron Smith — The court argued at length about the narrow circumstances under which a Rule 17 subpoena for a victim’s therapy files may be permitted. Appellate counsel for the defendant asked the panel to find a trial judge abused discretion by imposing an almost-impossible standard to obtain privileged therapy records; the Commonwealth said the record lacked a sufficient factual showing that the therapy files would contain information relevant to…
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