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State v. Martinez8/25/2004
On April 22, 2003, the State filed a criminal complaint against Martinez alleging one count of battery and one count of disorderly conduct following a dispute with his wife, C.M. According to the complaint, a friend of C.M. received a phone call from C.M., who was crying and requesting that she be picked up because she feared for her safety. The friend could hear Martinez yelling in the background. According to the friend, C.M. had been home alone when Martinez came home intoxicated and stated that he had been out with another woman. When C.M. attempted to go through Martinez's pants pocket, he pulled C.M. by the hair and pushed her on the bed. C.M., who was eight months pregnant with Martinez's child at the time, felt the baby drop to a lower position.
. On August 28, 2003, Martinez filed a Shiffra motion requesting C.M.'s psychological records. In support of his motion he filed an affidavit alleging in its entirety:
1. I am the defendant in the above matter;
2. That the alleged victim is my wife, [C.M.];
3. That I deny that I ever touched my wife on March 23, 2003 as she alleges in the Criminal Complaint.
4. That my wife has undergone psychiatric care in the past.
5. That in my best judgment and belief, her psychiatric condition has caused her, in the past, to attempt suicide, to accuse me of various behaviors that I did not commit, and to act irrationally enough to cause police to intervene on at least 3 occasions;
6. That I am making this affidavit of my own free will with no coercion, promises, rewards, or inducements;
7. That this affidavit is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
. At a September 3, 2003 hearing on the motion, Martinez argued that he was entitled to an in camera review of C.M.'s records based on his allegation in the affidavit that she had, in the past, accused him of "doing things he never did." Martinez's attorney, in the form of argument to the court, presented some additional information regarding C.M., including that she previously had two miscarriages resulting in psychiatric treatment and that she had made two suicide attempts. Defense counsel additionally represented that C.M. had previously accused Martinez of various behavior, including having an affair that had "no basis in reality." Defense counsel also stated that C.M. had exhibited "erratic" behavior "to the point where she's packed up all her clothes, and the police have just found her walking the streets with all her clothes." The State objected to the discovery of C.M.'s records on grounds that Martinez's information and affidavit failed to set forth a specific factual basis for the request. Following the hearing, the trial court found that Martinez had met the threshold requirements of Shiffra and State v. Green, 2002 WI 68, , 253 Wis. 2d 356, 646 N.W.2d 298, and ordered the State to make C.M.'s psychiatric records available to the court. The State appeals.
Discussion
. Pursuant to Shiffra, 175 Wis. 2d at 605, 608, a defendant may obtain an in camera review of a victim's confidential mental health records upon showing that the records are relevant and may be necessary to a fair determination of guilt or innocence. The defendant bears the burden of making a preliminary evidentiary showing before an in camera review is conducted by the court. Green, 253 Wis. 2d 356, . Factual findings made by the court in its determination are reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard. Id. Whether the defendant submitted a preliminary evidentiary showing sufficient for an in camera review implicates a defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial and raises a question of law that we review de novo.
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