 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Planned Parenthood Golden Gate v. Superior Court of San Mateo County8/28/2000
ctives of the federal statute. (See Historical and Statutory Notes, 12A West Ann. Civ. Code (1997 ed.) § 3427.) Section 3427.1 makes it unlawful to "intentionally prevent an individual from entering or exiting a health care facility by physically obstructing the individual's passage or by disrupting the normal functioning of a health care facility." When such action is alleged, courts are expressly directed to "take all steps reasonably necessary to safeguard the individual privacy and prevent harassment of a health care patient, licensed health practitioner, or employee, client, or customer of a health care facility who is a party or witness in the proceeding, including granting protective orders." (§ 3427.3.) In enacting this statute, our Legislature acknowledged the need to "safeguard the privacy of patients, licensed heath care practitioners, and health care facility employees, clients, and customers . . . ." (Stats. 1994, ch. 1193, § 1, p. 5993.)
We realize that, in the present case, Planned Parenthood has not alleged a violation of section 3427. Nevertheless, analogous concerns about safety and privacy are present here because the litigants in this case represent opposing factions in the emotionally charged and often violent debate regarding the abortion issue, and the potential non-party witnesses whose personal information is at issue in this case are the very individuals that section 3427 is designed to protect.
Real parties ask us to ignore human experience and legislative findings and to view this case in a vacuum. According to real parties, the privacy interests of non-party staff and volunteers are minimal because there is no evidence that real parties or their counsel will invade those privacy interests. We have two responses.
First, a privacy interest does not need to be violated before it can be acknowledged. There is no requirement that Planned Parenthood's staff and volunteers must first suffer an invasion of privacy in this litigation before they can seek constitutional protection. Rather, as we have already explained, recent history teaches that the consequences of disclosure of private information about these individuals can be dire. Both the federal and state legislatures have acknowledged that the abortion debate raises unique concerns which cannot be ignored. So has the United States Supreme Court, just this term. In Hill v. Colorado, supra, 120 S.Ct. 2480, the Court upheld a statute that regulates speech-related conduct within 100 feet of the entrance of any health care facility. The Court found, among other things, that a state's interests in protecting the health and safety of its citizens "may justify a special focus on . . . the avoidance of potential trauma to patients associated with confrontational protests." (Id. at p. 2489.) The same "potential trauma" the Court alluded to obviously also impacts on non-party employees and volunteers of abortion providers. The Hill court also found that the "prophylactic" aspect of the state statute was justified by the "unique concerns that surround health care facilities." (Id. at p. 2496.)
Second, there is evidence pertaining to the parties involved in this litigation that reinforces our conclusion that Planned Parenthood staff and volunteers have particularly strong interests in keeping names, addresses and telephone numbers private. This record contains evidence that Foti and Garibaldi have previously engaged in protest activities at the homes of clinic workers. There is also evidence that attorneys who represent real parties in this case have also personally engaged in such protest activities. One of these attorneys, Catherine Short of the Life Legal Defense Foundation, was quoted in a newspaper as s
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 California Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|