§ 16.75.060. Confidentiality.

A.

Records or other information collected by the advisory committee, any fatality review team, or member of a committee or review team, related to duties under this section are confidential and not subject to the public records disclosure provisions under AS 40.25.100 and AS 40.25.110, except a public report issued by the advisory committee without confidential information.

B.

The determinations, conclusions, and recommendations of a domestic violence fatality review process are not admissible in a civil or criminal proceeding, including:

1.

A member may not be compelled to disclose a determination, conclusion, recommendation, discussion, or thought process through discovery or testimony in a civil or criminal proceeding; and

2.

Records and information collected by the committee or team are not subject to discovery or subpoena in connection with a civil or criminal proceedings.

C.

Notwithstanding subsection B. above, any person or member may testify in a civil or criminal proceeding concerning cases reviewed by a domestic violence fatality review team as required by law. However, no person or member may disclose any information or documents solely obtained through, or as the result of, participation in a fatality review team.

D.

Pursuant to AS 18.66.400, and notwithstanding any provision in Chapter 2.60 to the contrary, the records and actions of the advisory committee and individual fatality review teams are not subject to review by the office of the ombudsman.

E.

Nothing in this chapter supersedes the legal responsibility of any advisory committee or individual fatality review team member with a duty to report, a duty to warn, or a duty to disclose certain types or categories of information to local, state and/or law-related agencies.

(AO No. 2007-55, § 1, 4-10-07)