What's up doc?: Jaffee v. Redmond and the psychotherapeutic privilege in criminal justice

This article addresses the Supreme Court's decision in Jaffee v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1 (1996), which created a federal psychotherapist-patient privilege and extended that privilege to social workers engaged in psychotherapy. Jaffee was a civil case, though its ramifications extended to the criminal arena as well. The following discussion presents the effects of Jaffee on criminal justice at both the state and federal levels by examining cases citing Jaffee as precedent and provides insight into future implications and unresolved issues surrounding this case. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.