Cross v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County

Opinion

BAKER,

Cross (petitioner) is a physician, one who specializes exclusively in psychiatry. The Department of Consumer Affairs (Department), the governmental agency that houses the Medical Board of California (Board), served petitioner with subpoenas to further its investigation into whether she improperly prescribed controlled substances to three people who are ostensibly her patients. Petitioner refused to produce the subpoenaed medical records, citing the psychotherapist-patient privilege and the patients’ constitutional right to privacy. The Department then filed a petition to compel…