Oregon Supreme Court reverses judge who ordered release of domestic violence victim’s records

The Oregon Supreme Court this week reversed a district judge’s decision that required an organization that supports victims of domestic violence to turn over records to a defendant accused of kidnapping, strangling and assaulting a woman last year.

The decision stems from: Clackamas County The case against Arthur Sacco, 33, who faces nearly a dozen domestic violence-related charges.

At the request of Sacco’s attorneys, District Judge Ulanda Watkins ordered Clackamas Women’s Services to produce records showing whether the organization provided financial assistance and a cell phone to the alleged victim.

The Oregon Supreme Court ruling said Sacco sought records to support the woman’s claim that she “fabricated allegations of domestic violence to obtain financial assistance” from Clackamas Women’s Services, the state’s long-standing and largest advocacy organization serving victims of domestic violence. It is stated.

Watkins ordered the nonprofit to “prepare records describing the cell phone information and the amount and type of any financial assistance” it provided to the woman.

The organization challenged that decision and asked the Oregon Supreme Court to intervene in an appeal known as mandamus; this was a relatively quick appeal directly to the Supreme Court to resolve a legal issue in an ongoing case.

Sacco is scheduled to stand trial early next year.

The nonprofit did not acknowledge in court filings whether it provided services to the woman who was allegedly attacked by Sacco, but it nevertheless said the records Watkins ordered her released were confidential under a state law passed by the Legislature more than a decade ago he claimed.

The Supreme Court agreed.

In a decision released Thursday, the court said state law protects from disclosure records created or maintained while providing services to victims of domestic violence.

Oregon Law Center attorney Emily Rena-Dozier, who represents the organization, praised the ruling as an important signal to victims of domestic violence that the information they give to organizations that support them is confidential.

“While criminal defendants have important constitutional rights, that does not mean they can seek out these records that the Legislature is intended to protect,” he said.

Melissa Erlbaum, executive director of Clackamas Women’s Services, said Watkins’ order led defense attorneys to seek similar records from her organization in domestic violence cases.

He called the Supreme Court’s decision “fundamental” and described his organization’s promise of confidentiality to victims of domestic violence as “our North Star.”

“The reason privacy is so important is because, as you can imagine, these are very personal details that people share about their lives,” he said, adding that in some cases, their lives could be at risk due to the threat of domestic violence. .

“Being able to talk to an attorney, knowing that it is confidential… being able to do that from a place of trust and confidentiality is really the foundation of our business.”

— Noelle Crombie is a corporate reporter focusing on criminal justice. Reach him at 503-276-7184; ncrombie@oregonian.

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