26-f Legal Rights and Confidentiality

• Library: A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (2020 Edition)

26-F. Legal Rights and Confidentiality

Under the U.S. Constitution, you have a right to privacy (a "privacy interest") regarding the disclosure of personal matters.¹²⁷ For information about your medical privacy, please see Part E(2) of JLM Chapter 23, "Your Right to Adequate Medical Care."

Prisoners with infectious diseases generally have a limited right to keep information about their medical condition confidential. Some courts have held that the right to medical confidentiality also applies to an individual's HIV status.¹²⁸ But, other courts have held that there is no constitutional right to privacy regarding HIV status.¹²⁹ If you are in federal prison, your HIV test results, if positive, must be disclosed to the prison's employees.¹³⁰

In New York state, your HIV-related information cannot be disclosed to anyone other than you and certain individuals or institutions who are authorized to know by law.¹³¹ Individuals who are authorized to receive your HIV information include health care providers (when knowledge is necessary to provide you with adequate care),¹³² employees of the Division of Parole,¹³³ employees of the Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives or local probation department,¹³⁴ the medical director of the local correctional facility,¹³⁵ or an employee or agent of the Commission of Correction.¹³⁶ These authorized individuals are allowed to access your HIV information so far as they need the information to carry out their duties and functions.¹³⁷

In New York, prisoners have won lawsuits that found statutory and constitutional rights violations when their HIV status was improperly disclosed. In particular, it is not allowed for a prison official to disclose your HIV status to other prisoners or non-medical personnel.¹³⁸ The courts seem to permit disclosure of your HIV status only if such...