Opinion ID: 1931379
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Motion to Release Mental Health Records.

Text: As noted earlier, the respondent challenges the district court's order requiring him to authorize the release of confidential mental health records to the State. He claims this discovery is contrary to the provisions of chapter 229A. See Bousman v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 630 N.W.2d 789, 796 (Iowa 2001) ([A] court has no discretion to issue a discovery order that lacks factual support or is in contravention of governing constitutional or statutory provisions.). We review this ruling for an abuse of discretion. See id. A brief review of the pertinent statutory provisions is helpful. The chapter 229A process may be commenced when the agency with jurisdiction over a confined person convicted of a sexually violent offense gives written notice to the attorney general and a statutory multidisciplinary team of the anticipated discharge of the person. See Iowa Code § 229A.3(1)(a). The multidisciplinary team then assesses whether the person meets the definition of a sexually violent predator and forwards its assessment to the attorney general. See id. § 229A.3(4). With the assistance of a prosecutor's review committee, the attorney general then determines whether the person meets the definition of a sexually violent predator. See id. § 229A.3(5). If the prosecutor's review committee determines the person meets the definition of a sexually violent predator, the attorney general may file a petition under chapter 229A. Id. § 229A.4(1). With this background, we turn to the statutory discovery provisions. After receiving notice of a person's anticipated discharge and before filing a petition, the prosecuting attorney or attorney general may require the production of documentary evidence. Id. § 229A.5A(1). Section 229A.5A(1) states the prosecuting attorney or attorney general shall have the same powers and limitations . . . as provided by this chapter and by the Iowa rules of civil procedure. . . . Id. Section 229A.14 addresses the release of otherwise confidential information: Notwithstanding any provision in the Code regarding confidentiality to the contrary, any relevant information and records which would otherwise be confidential or privileged, except information subject to attorney-client privilege and attorney work product, shall be released to the agency with jurisdiction or the attorney general for the purpose of meeting the notice requirement provided in section 229A.3 and determining whether a person is or continues to be a sexually violent predator. Id. § 229A.14 (emphasis added). There is no dispute here that the records sought by the State are relevant. The dispute centers on whether the records are sought for the purpose of meeting the notice requirement provided in section 229A.3 and determining whether a person is or continues to be a sexually violent predator. Id. (emphasis added). The respondent argues confidential records may be obtained only to satisfy both purposes simultaneously. From this premise, he concludes discovery of confidential materials is reserved for the time period preceding the filing of a chapter 229A petition because only then would the records be needed to meet the notice requirement of section 229A.3. See id. We reject this interpretation of section 229A.14. It rests on the conclusion that the legislature used the word and in a conjunctive sense. But that conclusion is not automatic. It is a well-known rule of statutory construction that the courts will construe disjunctive words as conjunctive, and vice versa, and will disregard technical rules of grammar and punctuation, when necessary to arrive at the intent of the legislative body. Green v. City of Mt. Pleasant, 256 Iowa 1184, 1212, 131 N.W.2d 5, 23 (1964) (citation omitted); see Ahrweiler v. Bd. of Supervisors, 226 Iowa 229, 235, 283 N.W. 889, 891 (1939) (stating that in construing statutes the word and may be interpreted as a disjunctive and . . . the words and and or are convertible, as the sense may require when necessary to effectuate the intent of the legislature). Consequently, we must examine the legislature's intent to determine whether and is used as a conjunctive or disjunctive. We think it significant that section 229A.14 does not expressly state the discovery permitted by that statute is limited to the pre-petition period. Moreover, the attorney general is allowed access to otherwise confidential records [n]otwithstanding any provision in the Code regarding confidentiality to the contrary. Iowa Code § 229A.14. The breadth of this provision indicates the importance the legislature attached to ensuring the availability of accurate and complete information regarding a respondent's medical and psychiatric history. We can think of no legislative purpose served by allowing the use of the respondent's confidential mental health records to make the preliminary assessment of whether the respondent meets the definition of sexually violent predator, but not allowing these highly relevant records to be used in the actual court proceeding at which the jury determines whether the respondent is, in fact, a sexually violent predator. In addition, the phrase at the end of the statuteor continues to be a sexually violent predatorsuggests that confidential records may be used during annual reviews and petitions for discharge. See id. § 229A.14 (emphasis added); see also id. §§ 229A.8 (providing for annual reviews to determine whether the respondent continues to meet the definition of sexually violent predator), 229A.10 (allowing director of human services to file a petition for discharge, which can lead to a hearing on whether the respondent continues to meet the definition of sexually violent predator). We conclude it is most consistent with legislative intent to interpret the word and as used in section 229A.14 to be disjunctive. Thus, section 229A.14 allows the discovery of confidential or privileged records for the purpose of meeting the notice requirement and, in addition, allows the discovery of confidential or privileged records for the purpose of determining whether a person is or continues to be a sexually violent predator. Therefore, the attorney general may obtain the respondent's confidential mental health records after a chapter 229A petition has been filed. Consequently, the district court did not abuse its discretion in ordering the respondent to authorize the release of his mental health hospitalization records for review by the State's expert.