Question

Arsenaux v. Arsenaux

Plaintiff wife sued for a separation from her husband on the grounds of abandonment. Alleging freedom from fault, she sought alimony, and additionally sought custody of a minor child and child support. The husband reconvened seeking a divorce on the grounds of adultery. In order to establish his claim, the husband sought to prove that his wife had become pregnant some two years following his vasectomy and had thereafter obtained an abortion. His effort was frustrated by the wife's successful assertion in the trial court that the medical records of her alleged abortion fell within the health care provider privilege for civil cases and her constitutional right to privacy.

The husband successfully appealed from the trial court's judgment in favor of the wife.' The Louisiana Supreme Court, in a four to three decision, reversed and held that the medical record in question is a communication under the explicit wording of the health care provider statute and, as such, should not be admitted. The court determined that the case did not fall within any of the statutory exceptions to the privilege. The court also based its decision upon a consideration of the wife's constitutional right to privacy.' The three dissenters argued that the wife had waived her privilege to have the evidence excluded by alleging freedom from fault.

Competency to Stand Trial

M’naghten Rule

HIPAA

Involuntary Commitment

Privilege communication

Tarasoff Rule

Answer 1

1) Compentency to stand trail : it requires that a defendant understands the nature and purpose of the leagal proceedings against him and be able to effectively cooperate with counsel in his defense. to understand the procedding a defendants must be able to comprehend the charges against him and the penalties if convicted, here in this case the husband is the defendant. 2)M'Naghten Rule provides that every man is to be presumed to be sane and that to establish a defense on the ground of insanity it must be clearly proved that at the time of the committing of the act the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason from disease of mind and not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing or if he did know it that he was doing or if he did know it that he did not know he was doing what was wrong, this will deteermine if a defendant can distinguish right from wrong is based on the idea that the defendant must know the difference in order to convicted of a crime. 3)HIPAA Privacy rule: the HIPAA Privacy rule creates national standards to protect individual medical records and other personal health information, the major goal of the privacy rule is to assure that individuals health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the publics health and well being, this rule strikes a balance that pemits important uses of information while permits important uses of information while protecting the privacy of people who seek care and healing.the individuals pat, presentandfuture physical or mental health or conditions are protected in the privacy rule here the wife abortion fells in this category. 4)Involuntary commitment: ( civil commitment ) : this law allows the involuntary commitment of an individual commitment os an individual by the courts contigent upon the presentation of substantial and reliable and reliable evidence of potential harm, physical abuse , in this case the wife accused husband for abdonment. 5) Privilege communication:it is an communicaation between 2 people or 2 parties in which the law recognizes a privvate , protected relationship the communication between the persons and parties should remain confidential and law cannot force reveal of the communication. 6)Tarasoff rule: when a therapist determines or pursuant to the standards of his profession, should determine that his patient presents a serious danger of violence to another he incurs an obligation to use reasonable care to protect the intended victim against such danger.