Subpoena

Abstract: Researchers often require and collect sensitive information about individuals to answer important scientific questions that impact individual health and well-being and the public health. Researchers recognize they have a duty to maintain the confidentiality of the data they collect and typically make promises, which are documented in the consent form. The legal interests of others, however, can threaten researchers' promises of confidentiality, if they seek access to the data through subpoena. Certificates of Confidentiality (Certificates), authorized by federal statute, are an important tool for protecting individually identifiable sensitive research data from compelled disclosure. However, questions persist in the research community about the strength of Certificate protections, and the evidence on which to judge the strength is scant. In this article, we address those questions through a careful examination of the legislation and regulations concerning Certificates and the reported and unreported cases we have identified through our legal research and interviews with legal counsel about their experiences with Certificates. We also analyze other statutes that protect research data to compare them to the Certificate's protections, and we review other legal strategies available for protecting research data. Based on our analysis, we conclude with recommendations for how to strengthen protection of sensitive research data.

Abstract: We propose a practical abuse-resilient transaction escrow scheme with applications to privacy-preserving audit and monitoring of electronic transactions. Our scheme ensures correctness of escrows as long as at least one of the participating parties is honest, and it ensures privacy and anonymity of transactions even if the escrow agent is corrupt or malicious. The escrowed information is secret and anonymous, but the escrow agent can efficiently find transactions involving some user in response to a subpoena or a search warrant. Moreover, for applications such as abuse-resilient monitoring of unusually high levels of certain transactions, the escrow agent can identify escrows with particular common characteristics and automatically (i.e., without a subpoena) open them once their number has reached a pre-specified threshold.

Abstract: Contents * Preface and Acknowledgments * Chapter 1 Forensic Social Work in a Litigious Society * The Purpose of Forensic Social Work * Law in the Origins of Social Work * Early Affinity of Social Work and the Law * Divergence Between Social Work and the Law * Growth of the Litigious Society * Social Work's Renewed Interest * What Social Workers Must Know About the Law * The Emergence of Forensic Social Work * Chapter 2 The Practice of Forensic Social Work * What Do Forensic Social Workers Do? * Motivations for Forensic Social Workers * Payment for Forensics Experts * Positive Incentives * Forensic Social Work As a Part-Time Occupation * Steps Toward A Forensics Specialty * How Expert Witnesses Become Established * Referral-Building Activities * Forensic Marketing Organizations * Forensic Professional Groups * Forensic Experts in Related Fields * National Organization of Forensic Social Workers * Conclusion * Chapter 3 Testifying in Courtrooms * Types of Courtroom Witnesses * Roles of the Social Work Fact Witness * Distinguishing Fact and Expert Witness * The Subpoena * Presenting Testimony Effectively * Responding to Direct Examination * Responding to Cross-Examination * Hazards in Presenting Testimony * Testifying Against Clients * The Testimony of Children * Recovered or Implanted Memory * Ten Guidelines for the Effective Witness * Chapter 4 Testifying As an Expert Witness * Pretrial Negotiations * Negotiating Payment * Preparation As an Expert Witness * Rehearsing Expert Testimony * Voir Dire: Qualifying As an Expert * Presenting Expert Testimony * Direct Examination of the Expert * Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses * Tactics to Impeach Expert Witnesses * Conclusion * Chapter 5 Malpractice and How To Avoid It * Some Malpractice Examples * Responsibility for Therapy Outcomes * Alleged Child Abuse: To Report or Not? * The Ramona (ital) Case * Criteria for Malpractice Liability * Preventive and Defensive Practices * Conduct Leading to Malpractice Claims * Chapter 6 When Laws and Ethics Collide * The Limits of Confidentiality * Child Abuse and Neglect Laws * The Tarasoff (ital) Case * Rationale of Judges and Legal Officials * Guidelines for Coping * Implementing the Actual Warning * Jaffee vs Redmond (ital) * Conclusion * Chapter 7 Preparing for Litigation * Recognizing a Potential Legal Hazard * The Emotional Risks of Litigation * When to Seek Legal Help * Costs of Litigation * Goals in Hiring a Lawyer * Trial or Settlement? * Chapter 8 Professional Review: Judgment by Colleagues * Need for Alternatives to Law Courts * Philosophies of Reviewing Organizations * Types of Sanctions * Disciplinary Action Reporting System (DARS) * Third-Party Review Procedures * NASW Peer Review Procedure * Critique of NASW Adjudication Procedures * Other Professional Review Procedures * Inevitability of Peer Review * How To Avoid or Minimize Sanctions * When Misconduct Is Acknowledged * Chapter 9 Case Recording and Written Contracts * Report Writing for the Litigious Society * Record Keeping for Couples and Families * The Problem-Oriented (SOAP) Record * Accessibility of Case Records * Forensics Reports versus Case Records * The Written Contract * Written versus Verbal Contracts * The Preservation of Contracts and Records * Conclusion * Chapter 10 Legal and Professional Credentials * Practicing Without Credentials * Consequences of Misrepresentation * What Are Credentials? * Origins of Social Work Credentials * Requirements for Professional Credentials * Social Work Licensure * Comparing Credentials with Other Professions * Unresolved Credentialing Problems * The AASSWB Model Social Wo

Abstract: When researchers rely on others to provide foundational data for research, they may often need to assure these sources that their identities and identifiable data will be kept confidential. Confidential firsthand reports are essential tools for enabling researchers to explore a plethora of important questions in such areas as health, economics, and public policy. Given their availability to the public, as well as to legislators and other policy makers, such reports may advance measures to ameliorate a variety of serious problems. Unfortunately, even the most objective research may be put at risk if it becomes bogged down in the muddy fields of litigation. A subpoena for confidential data is likely to be intimidating to a researcher regardless of his level of confidence in his objective evaluation of the data. The average researcher is illprepared for the sudden interference of a subpoena or the blocking tactics of an adversary flanked by expert witnesses. Yet, subpoenas are an omnipresent threat in all kinds of cases, from a products liability case against a cigarette manufacturer to a criminal prosecution of a prostitute. But what makes a subpoena excessive? There is no simple definition, nor bright-line rule; rather, the determination involves weighing various factors: the public interest served by the research project versus the public or private interest that prompted the subpoena; the importance of guaranteeing confidentiality in gaining access to essential information and scholarly research versus an alleged right to know the identity of the confidential sources or to review the research data.