Argument in favor of Denying the Witnesses Motion for Privileged Communications between Physician and Patient
The witness cannot assert that the statements made by the defendant to the witness are privileged and, therefore, inadmissible because of the physician-patient privilege. Under the New Jersey Rules of Evidence, communications made by a patient to his or her physician are privileged communications; the physician cannot be forced to testify unless the patient waives this privilege. There is one exception to this rule, stating that the privilege does not apply in situations where the services of the physician were sought in order to aid a patient in escaping detection or apprehension after the commission of a crime or a tort.
The defendant, Baldivani, was shot in the leg during a gun battle with police officers which occurred while he was robbing a bank. After his escape, he sought medical attention for the wound from Dr. Vermicelli. Baldivani told Dr. Vermicelli the circumstances under which he was wounded. The doctor has now refused to testify as to this statement, asserting that such testimony would violate the physician-patient privilege which exists between Baldivani and Dr. Vermicelli. As will be shown below, this privilege does not exist in the present circumstances, because Baldivani sought medical attention from Dr. Vermicelli in order to escape apprehension.
New Jersey Rules of Evidence provide that a person has a privilege in a criminal action to refuse to disclose or to prevent the disclosure of information communicated to a physician if (1) the communication was a confidential one communicated between a patient and a physician, (2) the patient reasonably believed that the communication was helpful or necessary to enable the physician to make a diagnosis of the condition of the patient or to prescribe or render treatment thereof, and (3) if the witness is the holder of the privilege or was the physici...