Defense seeks medical records of shooting victim

SANDPOINT — A 1st District judge is weighing a defense request for the disclosure of medical and mental health records of shooting victim Elvin “Eli” Holt.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson contends in court documents that the information is important to the defense of James Matthew Anderson, who is awaiting trial on a charge of second-degree murder.

Judge Steve Verby took the defense request under advisement after hearing brief oral arguments on Monday.

After the hearing, Robertson declined to elaborate on how the records would factor in the defense of Anderson.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall objected to the disclosure of the information in order to protect the privacy of Holt, who was shot to death late last year. Marshall added that the state does not possess the records the defense is seeking.

Holt, 30, died of a gunshot wound to head following a confrontation outside Anderson’s trailer in Sagle on Nov. 27, 2008.

The defense is seeking records from North Idaho Behavioral Health, a Sandpoint psychiatrist, the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare, and a Sandpoint attorney who prepared a claim for Social Security benefits, court records indicate.

Robertson argued disclosures are possible despite federal medical privacy guidelines and that legal documents in Holt’s appeal for Social Security benefits could be exempt from the rule.

“If the attorney/client privilege exists after death, why would that be any different from a patient/psychotherapist privilege?” Verby asked.

Robertson said the disclosure could address the medications Holt was receiving as opposed to confidential statements he made to a health care provider.

Coroner Kit Rose testified at a preliminary hearing earlier this year that a toxicology screen of Holt’s blood detected the active ingredients of alcohol and marijuana, in addition to tramadol, a prescription pain reliever sometimes used to treat depression and anxiety.

Robertson further argued Anderson’s right to due process in a criminal proceeding could be subverted in the protection of Holt’s rights.

Anderson, 29, has pleaded not guilty and his eight-day jury trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 13. He is being held at the Bonner County Jail with bail set at $200,000.