People v. Reynolds

The appellee was charged in the district court with first-degree sexual assault 1 and was acquitted by a jury after trial. The People bring this appeal assigning as error the trial court’s ruling that the complaining witness could not assert the statutory physician-patient privilege. 2 We disapprove the trial court’s ruling.

The complaining witness, Mrs. D., alleged that she had been raped in her home on December 24, 1976. After the incident, she called the police and was ultimately taken to a hospital, where she was met by her family physician. The doctor asked Mrs. D. about the incident and…