WASHINGTON (DC)
Boston Globe
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | April 18, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court yesterday cleared the way for prosecutors to obtain sex-abuse records from the Catholic Church, a decision that could affect hundreds of cases in which priests have been accused of molesting children.
Also, in a Boston-related case, the court rejected a request that it hear an appeal by two Chinese Muslim prisoners at Guantánamo Bay who maintain they should be freed, saying the case should be heard by a lower court first.
The Catholic Church and Guantánamo cases headlined a slew of cases the Supreme Court rejected yesterday as it did some spring-cleaning of its inbox.
In the child molestation case, the court turned down an appeal by the archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, and two unnamed priests who wanted to block a subpoena for internal church records.
The order lets stand a state-court ruling that allows the Los Angeles County district attorney to obtain pastoral counseling records that could reveal the priests' confessions and any psychological treatment.
The court's decision could have broad consequences for hundreds of civil lawsuits filed by sexual-abuse victims against the church. Just in California, according to the church's filing at the court, there are more than 500 lawsuits in which alleged victims of abuse are seeking counseling records.