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Don’t assume everything in the
records is accurate
While I learned early in my career that tiny items
in subpoenaed records can make or break a
case, I also learned how untrustworthy the
records can be. Sometimes you know that you
cannot rely on the truth of an entry. I did pro
bono work on the rights of the mentally
disordered, and found psychiatric hospital
records biased and conclusionary. At a state
mental hospital where I interviewed my client,
I presented a release that complied with the
Lanterman-Petris-Short Act [see How to Obtain
Psychiatric Records]. After waiting an inordinate
amount of time for the chart to be produced,
I went to the nursing station and found no one
there. I looked around and spotted my client’s file
lying open on the counter, with a fresh entry:
“Someone claiming to be an attorney was
demanding, rigid and inappropriate.”
How to Obtain Psychiatric Records
& Sample Release
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