Posted on 04/11/2010 8:52:46 PM PDT by jerry557
The attorney for one of six South Hadley High School students accused of bullying Phoebe Prince in the months leading up to her suicide is asking for highly personal information about her, a move decried by a former prosecutor and victims advocates as “unconscionable.”
In a six-page motion filed in Northampton Superior Court, Terrence M. Dunphy, the lawyer for Austin Renaud, asks for the names of any physicians, psychologists or rape counselors Prince saw; any medical and psychological records viewed by the prosecutor; details of any prior allegations of rape or abuse by Prince; and a statement as to whether her family had been the subject of a Department of Children and Families investigation.
“It’s standard procedure,” Dunphy, whose client is one of two boys charged with statutory rape, said of the request. “The document speaks for itself. I’m not explaining anything.”
Wendy Murphy, a former prosecutor who teaches at the New England School of Law, called the move “unconscionable,” arguing that the state’s highest court has ruled that the defendant in a criminal case is not entitled to a “laundry list of everyone the victim’s ever been treated by.”
There is a “very narrow” exception, Murphy said, in which the defense has to explicitly show there is something in the alleged victim’s file that will affect the defendant’s chance of a fair trial.
“But in this case, it’s not only overly broad, it’s exceedingly premature,” she said, adding that Prince never accused anyone of statutory rape - consensual sex with a minor. “I can only see it as a threat to unveil all the family secrets.”
If Dunphy pursues it, Murphy said, prosecutors have a right to “reciprocal discovery,” or the same type of information about the defendants.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonherald.com ...
Ping
Seems like a very normal request.
I don’t know the exact legal term, but I am aware there is a law that states it doesn’t matter what is in the victims medical history, if your actions lead to their death. Meaning if you hold up a gas station and a person with a heart conditon drops dead from shock, you are responsible for their death, their medical state is not a factor.
B-b-b-but, what about those bullies? Shouldn't we suspend all constitutional protections for bullies? /s
typical scumbag attorney move. may the guilty all burn for their actions.
Felony Murder rule ? That might apply if the accused kids were robbing a station and caused the poor girl to drop dead . Are those the facts here ?
If a man rapes a woman, does the defense have a right to throw the victim’s entire medical and psychological history out into the open?
No wonder most rapes are never reported.
I haven’t been following this closely, but it doesn’t sound unreasonable to me.
Remember--this is a suicide. Not a murder. What you have here are people being accused of being mean teens. Any of you have any teens who were mean?
Did it happen at a gas station ?
I didnt make that analogy... i asked a different question...
Does the defense in a rape case have the right to smear the victim with her medical and psychological history that may have absolutely nothing to do with the crime?
Do you understand what a double barreled question is ? Are you still a part time democrat ? Yes or no please .
Part-time Democrat? What the hell are you talking about? And what the hell does political affiliation have to do with this anyway?
I asked a simple question of whether the defense has a right to smear a rape victim? And you obviously don’t have the answer.
No the point is, if your actions result in the death of anyone you are resonsible, regardless if that person had a weakened mental or physical state to begin with.
Maybe it was a Prozac moment.
Surely the defense has the right to know that?
Doesnt make a difference...
If a suicidal person has a loaded gun to their head. And you yell at them to pull the trigger...and he pulls that trigger. I believe that under the law you can be held at least partially responsible for his death.
Im not a lawyer...But I think this is true.
If that is so you can expect to hear from the lawyer for my estate as I have just expired as a result of this nattering .
Seems to me that if they are charging that this bulling caused her to commit suicide, the defense should be able to probe other possible reason’s for her taking her own life.
All kids get bullied at school from time to time, and it may have had nothing to do with her suicide.
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