The DeKalb County District Attorney's office has filed a motion to compel a psychologist who met with Dunwoody day care shooter Hemy Neuman to discuss his findings with prosecutors.
Prosecutors argue that because Dr. Peter Thomas was conducting an evaluation of Neuman, the defendant cannot claim confidentiality. Neuman has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity for the November 2010 killing of Rusty Sneiderman.
The district attorney filed the motion Wednesday, and it was made public Thursday. Former DeKalb District Attorney J. Tom Morgan, now in private practice, said the law is clear on the issue.
"There is no doctor-patient privilege when it comes to obtaining a [mental health] evaluation for a criminal trial," Morgan told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Neuman attorney Bob Rubin would not comment as to the purpose of Thomas' visit with his client, adding "we will be prepared to respond to the state's motion at the time of the hearing."
The state's motion claims the evaluation was conducted "sometime around May 2010."
According to jail logs maintained by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, Peter Thomas met with Neuman from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on May 11. Under "reason for visit" he wrote, "Testing."
DeKalb assistant D.A. Don Geary, the chief prosecutor on the case, declined comment.
A date for the hearing to decide the motion to question the psychologist has not been scheduled.
One Atlanta private defense lawyer said the state faces an uphill challenge in its request. Attorney Manny Arora believes a judge is likely to be cautious in dealing with doctor-patient confidentiality.
"One expert might rule in your favor, another might rule otherwise," said Arora. "If you were a defense lawyer and you had to turn all that over, then you could really never hire an expert."
Neuman's trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 13.
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