Summary
The Rhode Island Supreme Court dismissed an appeal concerning the disclosure of a patient's medical records to assist an out-of-state criminal investigation. The Court held that the appeal was moot because the records had already been released to Connecticut authorities and the Court could not control their use in the pending Connecticut prosecution. It also declined to apply the exception for issues of extreme public importance capable of repetition but evading review.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the appeal was moot because Remington's medical records had already been released to the Rhode Island Attorney General and disseminated to Connecticut law-enforcement authorities.
- Whether the appeal qualified for the narrow exception to mootness for matters of extreme public importance capable of repetition but evading review.
Holdings
- The appeal was moot because a decision on the merits would not have a practical effect on the underlying controversy after the medical records had been transferred to Connecticut and Connecticut criminal proceedings had commenced.
- The appeal did not qualify for the extreme-public-importance exception because Remington challenged only the procedural vehicle used to obtain the records.
Key quotations
“If a decision by this Court "would fail to have a practical effect on the existing controversy, the question is moot, and we will not render an opinion on the matter."” (at 638)
“Because a decision by this court on the merits will not have a practical effect on the underlying controversy, the appeal is moot.” (at 639)
Factual background
After Remington was injured in a motorcycle accident in Connecticut, he was transported to Westerly Hospital, where blood tests and X-rays were performed as part of his treatment. Connecticut police investigating suspected alcohol-impaired operation sought the hospital's blood-test records through the Rhode Island Attorney General. The Superior Court authorized disclosure, the records were released to Connecticut, and Remington was later criminally charged there.
Procedural history
The Rhode Island Attorney General filed a miscellaneous petition in Superior Court and served a subpoena seeking Westerly Hospital's records concerning Remington's treatment after a motorcycle accident. The Superior Court denied motions to quash, authorized disclosure after an in-camera review, and stayed its order temporarily to permit an appeal. Remington did not seek a stay from the Supreme Court, the records were released and sent to Connecticut, and Connecticut subsequently charged him with operating a motor vehicle under the influence. The Supreme Court denied and dismissed the appeal as moot without reaching the merits of the subpoena's procedural or substantive validity.