CA: State court revives psychotherapist challenge to law on patients who reveal child porn activity

[sfchronicle.com – 12/26/19]

The California Supreme Court revived a challenge by psychotherapists Thursday to a state law requiring them to notify the government about any patient who has viewed child pornography.

The law, passed in 2014, expanded statutes from the 1980s that required therapists to report to police or child welfare offices — or face loss of their licenses and criminal prosecution — when a patient has produced, distributed or duplicated images of juveniles engaged in sexual activity. The new law extended the requirement to patients who downloaded or viewed those images.

While viewing child pornography is a crime, under a state law not challenged in Thursday’s case, the therapists argued that mandatory reporting would invade their patients’ privacy and thwart efforts to counsel and treat them.

Lower courts dismissed their suit, saying California’s constitutional right to privacy does not protect either the viewing of child pornography or discussing such illegal conduct with therapists. But a closely divided state Supreme Court reinstated the suit and said the therapists could try to prove the reporting requirement would interfere with the patients’ treatment.

The law affects a “legally protected privacy interest,” the right to make statements during therapy without fear of public disclosure, Justice Goodwin Liu said in the 4-3 decision. Therapists must report communications that reveal threats or dangers to the public, he said, but privacy can still protect “voluntary psychotherapy to treat sexual disorders,” even when the patient admits criminal conduct.

The patients’ revelations “concern the most intimate aspects of human thought and behavior however noxious or depraved,” Liu said. If the therapists can show, for example, that the reporting requirement does little to protect children from sexual abuse, and may even undermine it by preventing treatment, the law must be ruled unconstitutional, he said.

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Pathetically, the Chief Justice is still quoting the “Children depicted in child pornography are re-victimized every time the content is accessed” nonsense. That belongs in the same bin with “frightening and high.”

It’s been said, “That confession is good for the soul” and if a person goes to a professional and tells them “That he/she needs help with sexual attraction of children” that would provide a great protection of children and it would seem, that the LE and victims advocates would encourage it and by asking for help should come perks like, not going to jail because of the confession?

Charity begins at home.

ACSOL is primarily focused on protecting the rights of those individuals (and the family members and friends) of those previously convicted a sexual offences. And by fighting for those rights there’s a good chance that we are protecting future generations of our fellow human beings.
To paraphrase the politicians, if we can keep just one other country from instituting public sex offender registries, we will have made a difference.

Remember this saying …
One is only poor if they choose to be !!!
Its hard to say things like this when people go through abuses, but never the less ..
ONE IS A VICTIM, OR CONTINUES TO BE A VICTIM ONLY IF ONE CHOOSES TO BE !
OF COURSE THAT DOES NOT MEAN STAY WHERE ABUSE IS OCCURING ! BUT, WE LIVE IN A VICTIM HOOD, TUUSHEE WHIPPED SOCIETY !
Have a great day !

I dont care if your a doctor/psychologists or therapist if a grown ass man or woman tells you some crazy shiit like they watch child porn you should notify law enforcement ASAP and I don’t care if it’s a professional setting and there trying to seek help
Anybody who watched or watches child porn got some serious issues and should be removed from society immediately and to anyone who’s in a group counseling session and someone confesses something crazy like that I think every adult in the room should notify law enforcement of that person’s Behavior immediately

Well, your wrong and God knows your wrong, you do not destroy peoples lives based off whats Not your business…!
The Boss doesnt need to know everything…
The Gov doesnt need to know everything…
The Law doesnt need to know everything…
In your mind it always leads to more bad things/crimes etc.
Thats why PROPER AVENUES !
ARE AFFORDED TO PEOPLE TO RESOLVE, DEAL WITH AND OVER COME THEIR ISSUES WITHOUT PUNISHMENT OR RETALIATION, DICTATORSHIP ..You are bordering on Extreamism, Tyranny and Do Not Understand Having Faith in Mans Ways Is Not The Answer to All Our Problems !
There are a Hell of alot more Disturbing things to Worry about !
REMEMBER,,,, WE DO NOT HAVE A PRE-CRIME UNIT IN THE U.S.
IT IS MORRALY, ETHICALLY WRONG AND A DANGEROUS GAME TO PLAY WITH PEOPLES LIVES ..
When you act out a Crime you are in Trouble NOT BEFORE !!!
GET IT !!!
NO IF, AND, BUT ….etc….

It’s sad to see that even the “educated” three Justices in this case, the ones who voted against more protections for patients, could not see further than their arguments. The fact is that if people are not deterred from seeking help, and if the greatest protections are afforded for patients seeking psychotherapy, then logically, there would be less victimization.

As far as revictomizing an such, how about law enforcement take down any child pornography off the internet and for law enforcement to stop using real child pornography in sting operations because they are doing the same as the people there arresting, and as far as static-99 what about the fact the federal government knew in 1994 the truth because the government did a study on recidivism in 1994 and the results were 9% and the government has done a study every year since and results were below 5% but they enacted the registry anyways, all of this information is on the Doj & Smart.gov website.

I agree that it does revictomizes the victom but what makes me mad is why the law enforcement officers who set-up stings and send pictures to the adult that thinks he’s talking to someone who’s underage. Why isn’t the officers involved who sent a underage childs pic, why aren’t they arrested for sending underage pornography or never use pictures of underage children. The officers are revictomizing the child as well as the reciever. Can’t be fair or correct for law enforcement to send them an not be in trouble but the reciever is in trouble???

Thoughts Therapist CLinician(s) ? Especially board mbrs. Please. What’s the current status, what has become the outcome, some need Rx w/o the stigma to be fully honest. Others just won’t participate when they could gain so much more insight and curiosity control and not reoffend, IF EVEN. it/s mid 2022, something must be done.