Cite as: 518 U. S. 1 (1996)
Opinion of the Court
The Court of Appeals qualified its recognition of the privilege by stating that it would not apply if, "in the interests of justice, the evidentiary need for the disclosure of the contents of a patient's counseling sessions outweighs that patient's privacy interests." Id., at 1357. Balancing those conflicting interests, the court observed, on the one hand, that the evidentiary need for the contents of the confidential conversations was diminished in this case because there were numerous eyewitnesses to the shooting, and, on the other hand, that Officer Redmond's privacy interests were substantial.5 Id., at 1358. Based on this assessment, the court concluded that the trial court had erred by refusing to afford protection to the confidential communications between Redmond and Beyer.
The United States Courts of Appeals do not uniformly agree that the federal courts should recognize a psychotherapist privilege under Rule 501. Compare In re Doe, 964 F. 2d 1325 (CA2 1992) (recognizing privilege); In re Zuniga, 714 F. 2d 632 (CA6) (same), cert. denied, 464 U. S. 983 (1983), with United States v. Burtrum, 17 F. 3d 1299 (CA10) (declining to recognize privilege), cert. denied, 513 U. S. 863 (1994); In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 867 F. 2d 562 (CA9) (same), cert. denied sub nom. Doe v. United States, 493 U. S. 906 (1989); United States v. Corona, 849 F. 2d 562 (CA11 1988) (same), cert. denied, 489 U. S. 1084 (1989); United States v. Meagher, 531 F. 2d 752 (CA5) (same), cert. denied, 429 U. S. 853 (1976). Because of the conflict among the Courts of
5 "Her ability, through counseling, to work out the pain and anguish undoubtedly caused by Allen's death in all probability depended to a great deal upon her trust and confidence in her counselor Karen Beyer. Officer Redmond, and all those placed in her most unfortunate circumstances, are entitled to be protected in their desire to seek counseling after mortally wounding another human being in the line of duty. An individual who is troubled as the result of her participation in a violent and tragic event, such as this, displays a most commendable respect for human life and is a person well-suited 'to protect and to serve.' " 51 F. 3d, at 1358.
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