Can maryland police sopiena medical records to convict in dwi case

Hello.

Yes.  The Maryland police and/or any law enforcement agency
investigating and prosecuting criminal activity (which would certainly
include driving while intoxicated) can subpoena medical records.

This is part of Maryland Law and may be found in Section 4-306(b)(7)
of the Maryland Health-General statute
http://mlis.state.md.us/cgi-win/web_statutes.exe?ghg&4-306

"Article - Health - General
 § 4-306.
...
 (b)      A health care provider shall disclose a medical record
without the authorization of a person in interest:
...
 (7)      Subject to the additional limitations for a medical record
developed primarily in connection with the provision of mental health
services in § 4-307 of this subtitle, to grand juries, prosecution
agencies, law enforcement agencies or their agents or employees to
further an investigation or prosecution, pursuant to a subpoena,
warrant, or court order for the sole purposes of investigating and
prosecuting criminal activity, provided that the prosecution agencies
and law enforcement agencies have written procedures to protect the
confidentiality of the records;"
source: Maryland Statutes 2003, Health General §4-306(b)(7)
http://mlis.state.md.us/cgi-win/web_statutes.exe?ghg&4-306


search strategy:
"medical record", subpoena, maryland, prosecution

I hope this helps.

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Request for Answer Clarification by myjeep16-ga on 07 Jun 2003 13:17 PDT

Is there certain procedures or laws etc. they have to follow? Example,
don't they have to be present or with in 2 hours upon admission at
hospital to request a blood breath or urine  test? And isn't the blood
test suppose to be done at their lab? what about the proper paper work
for chain of coustoy?
Thank you

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 07 Jun 2003 14:51 PDT

First of all, I must note that, as indicated at the bottom of this
page, Google Answers is not a substitute for professional legal
advice.


Now, getting to down to business...

I think you're raising a separate issue here.  

Under the statute cited, the police and/or prosecutors can subpoena
the records. That's clear.  The only additional requirement seems to
be that they must have adequate safeguards in place to protect the
privacy of the records.

The issues that you bring about the blood testing procedure and chain
of custody have to do with the admissibility of the evidence at trial,
rather than whether the evidence is subject to subpoena in the first
place. If the blood testing procedure was improper or there are gaps
in the chain or custody, a defendant and/or a defense attorney might
be able to use these procedural defects to block the evidence from be
admitted at trial.

I direct your attention to the case of STATE OF MARYLAND v. WILLIAM
DUNLOCK BRYANT (2000). In that case, the Mr. Bryant was convicted of
homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol,
driving under the influence of alcohol, negligent driving, driving at
unreasonable speed, and failure to control speed. In that case, the
prosecution subpoenaed Mr Bryant's medical records for the evening of
the accident. Reading that case, there's no dispute that the records
were subject to subpoena.  Rather, the issue is whether the records
were sufficiently authenticated that they should have been admitted in
Mr Bryant's trial.
see: STATE OF MARYLAND v. WILLIAM DUNLOCK BRYANT, cached by Google:
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:oBASJjKSIGkJ:www.courts.state.md.us/opinions/coa/2000/16a00.pdf+subpoena+%22medical+records%22+driving+intoxicated&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&client=googlet

The court makes reference to Maryland Rule of Civil Procedure 3-510(h)
"(h)          Hospital records.
(1) A hospital served with a subpoena to produce at trial records,
including x-ray films, relating to the condition or treatment of a
patient may comply by delivering the records to the clerk of the court
that issued the subpoena at or before the time specified for
production. The hospital may produce exact copies of the records
designated unless the subpoena specifies that the original records be
produced. The records shall be delivered in a sealed envelope labeled
with the caption of the action, the date specified for production, and
the name and address of the person at whose request the subpoena was
issued. The records shall be accompanied by a certificate of the
custodian that they are the complete records for the patient for the
period designated in the subpoena and that the records are maintained
in the regular course of business of the hospital. The certification
shall be prima facie evidence of the authenticity of the records."
http://www.megalawserve.com/states/md.php


 

I hope this helps.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 07 Jun 2003 14:54 PDT

Sorry for that typo in last sentence of the third paragraph.  It should have read:
"... block the evidence from being admitted at trial."

Dear myjeep16,

Your question related to the process by which police or prosecuting
authorities can obtain medical records, which may reflect a suspect's
blood alcohol level. juggler provided information as to how such
records may be obtained under Maryland law.

Your request for clarification hints at a different issue - how and
under what circumstances the police may request medical professionals
to take a blood sample (or possibly a urine sample) in order to
advance a criminal investigation. In the former circumstance,
addressed in your initial question, the sample is taken for medical
purposes. In this latter circumstance, suggested by your RFC, the
sample is taken for law enforcement purposes.

A separate body of law governs the taking of such samples for law
enforcement purposes, the rights of a suspect who is asked to consent
to a blood test, and the circumstances and methods by which the police
may compel the production of a blood or urine sample. However, if the
sample is taken for medical purposes, the process juggler outlined
would apply even if the police would otherwise have requested a sample
to further their investigation of a possible criminal offense.