Commissioner of Mental Health & Addiction Services v. Freedom of Information Commission

Citations

• 347 Conn. 675

Syllabus

Pursuant to statute (§ 52-146e (a)), ''communications and records as defined in section 52-146d shall be confidential'' and ''no person may disclose This case originally was scheduled to be argued before a panel of this court consisting of Chief Justice Robinson and Justices D'Auria, Mullins, Ecker and Keller. Thereafter, Justice McDonald and Judge Cradle were added to the panel and have read the briefs and appendices, and listened to a recording of the oral argument prior to participating in this decision. 676 AUGUST, 2023 347 Conn. 675 Commissioner of Mental Health & Addiction Services v. Freedom of Information Commission or transmit any communications and records or the substance or any part or any resume thereof which identify a patient . . . without the consent of the patient or his authorized representative.'' Pursuant further to statute (§ 52-146d (2)), the phrase ''communications and records'' is defined as ''all oral and written communications and records thereof relating to diagnosis or treatment of a patient's mental condition between the patient and a psychiatric mental health provider, or between a member of the patient's family and a psychiatric mental health pro- vider, or between any of such persons and a person participating under the supervision of a psychiatric mental health provider in the accomplish- ment of the objectives of diagnosis and treatment, wherever made, including communications and records which occur in or are prepared at a mental health facility . . . .'' The plaintiffs, the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), appealed to the trial court from the decision of the named defendant, the Freedom of Information Commission (commission), which ordered the disclosure, without redaction, of a police report to the defendant newspaper and its reporter, which the reporter had requested pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The police report concern