N.Y. Public Health Law 2785 – Court authorization for disclosure of confidential HIV related information
§ 2785. Court authorization for disclosure of confidential HIV related information. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no court shall issue an order for the disclosure of confidential HIV related information, except a court of record of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions of this section.
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Health Law 2785
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Contact: means an identified spouse or sex partner of the protected individual, a person identified as having shared hypodermic needles or syringes with the protected individual or a person who the protected individual may have exposed to HIV under circumstances that present a risk of transmission of HIV, as determined by the commissioner. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2780
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes any natural person, partnership, association, joint venture, trust, public or private corporation, or state or local government agency. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2780
- Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
- Protected individual: means a person who is the subject of an HIV related test or who has been diagnosed as having HIV infection, AIDS or HIV related illness. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2780
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
2. A court may grant an order for disclosure of confidential HIV related information upon an application showing: (a) a compelling need for disclosure of the information for the adjudication of a criminal or civil proceeding; (b) a clear and imminent danger to an individual whose life or health may unknowingly be at significant risk as a result of contact with the individual to whom the information pertains; (c) upon application of a state, county or local health officer, a clear and imminent danger to the public health; or (d) that the applicant is lawfully entitled to the disclosure and the disclosure is consistent with the provisions of this article.
3. Upon receiving an application for an order authorizing disclosure pursuant to this section, the court shall enter an order directing that all pleadings, papers, affidavits, judgments, orders of the court, briefs and memoranda of law which are part of the application or the decision thereon, be sealed and not made available to any person, except to the extent necessary to conduct any proceedings in connection with the determination of whether to grant or deny the application, including any appeal. Such an order shall further direct that all subsequent proceedings in connection with the application shall be conducted in camera, and, where appropriate to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of confidential HIV related information, that any pleadings, papers, affidavits, judgments, orders of the court, briefs and memoranda of law which are part of the application or the decision thereon not state the name of the individual concerning whom confidential HIV related information is sought.
4. (a) The individual concerning whom confidential HIV related information is sought and any person holding records concerning confidential HIV related information from whom disclosure is sought shall be given adequate notice of such application in a manner which will not disclose to any other person the identity of the individual, and shall be afforded an opportunity to file a written response to the application, or to appear in person for the limited purpose of providing evidence on the statutory criteria for the issuance of an order pursuant to this section.
(b) The court may grant an order without such notice and opportunity to be heard, where an ex parte application by a public health officer shows that a clear and imminent danger to an individual whose life or health may unknowingly be at risk requires an immediate order.
(c) Service of a subpoena shall not be subject to this subdivision.
5. In assessing compelling need and clear and imminent danger, the court shall provide written findings of fact, including scientific or medical findings, citing specific evidence in the record which supports each finding, and shall weigh the need for disclosure against the privacy interest of the protected individual and the public interest which may be disserved by disclosure which deters future testing or treatment or which may lead to discrimination.
6. An order authorizing disclosure of confidential HIV related information shall:
(a) limit disclosure to that information which is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which the order is granted; and
(b) limit disclosure to those persons whose need for the information is the basis for the order, and specifically prohibit redisclosure by such persons to any other persons, whether or not they are parties to the action; and
(c) to the extent possible consistent with this section, conform to the provisions of this article; and
(d) include such other measures as the court deems necessary to limit any disclosures not authorized by its order.