Yaw ex rel. Broadhead v. Northwest Alabama Mental Health Center

Northwest Alabama Mental Health Center, a public corporation (“Northwest”), and its executive director, Skip Newman, petition this Court for a writ of mandamus seeking the vacation of an order of the Lamar Circuit Court that required them to produce the mental-health records of Northwest patient Dimoris Johnson. We grant the petition.

I. Facts and Procedural History

In the fall of 2007, Lawrence Neil Broadhead was admitted to Bryce Hospital, a State-operated mental-health facility, for treatment of depression and drug abuse. Broadhead remained a patient of Bryce Hospital until February 19,…