NCJ Number
197089
Date Published
2002
Length
8 pages
Annotation
A 1996 Massachusetts State Supreme Judicial Court case provides a study of the issue of confidentiality in the therapeutic relationship, the more generalized legal consideration of privileged communication entitlement, and the specialized application of the supplying of mental health services within law enforcement employee assistance programs.
Abstract
The occasion for the precedent-setting ruling, which resounded in the world of policing, was the decision of a "social worker without a license" (Gilbert M. Bernard v. Commonwealth, 1996) to risk imprisonment, punitive fine, and loss of career solely to protect from disclosure the contents of communications during counseling. The petitioner, Gilbert M. Bernard, a Massachusetts State trooper, was assigned to work full-time in the Employee Assistance Unit of that agency. The unit provides 24-hour assistance by peer counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, substance abuse counselors, and other helping professionals to officers suffering from stress-related conditions. Bernard was subpoenaed to testify against an officer he had counseled regarding an allegation of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon against his girlfriend. Following a hearing, the court found Bernard was not a social worker within the meaning of existing statute. Subsequently, during the criminal trial Bernard refused to answer questions and was found in criminal contempt. He appealed the denial of his motion for a protective order to the State's Supreme Judicial Court. Fifteen months later, that court ruled in Bernard's favor. Besides affording relief to Trooper Bernard, the court's findings have made a significant contribution to increasing the credibility of and confidence in law enforcement peer counseling programs in Massachusetts and elsewhere. 3 references