State vs. John Cote and Sarah Cote, In Re: Dr. Sandra Elkins

John and Sarah Cote, the Defendant-Appellees in this case, stand accused of offenses involving the death of a minor child. Dr. Sandra Elkins, the former 1 Knox County Medical Examiner, performed the autopsy of the victim in the Cotes' case. In a pre-trial motion for discovery, the Cotes requested disclosure of Dr. Elkins's personal medical records; namely, prescription records, drug treatment records, mental health records, University of Tennessee personnel records, an audit report of the East Tennessee Regional Forensic Center, and any records from the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners. The trial court granted an in camera review of the requested information. Dr. Elkins originally sought an interlocutory appeal of the trial court's order granting the motion for discovery pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. Interpreting the Rule 9 appeal as a common law writ of certiorari, this court granted review. Following this court's order accepting the Rule 9 appeal as a writ of certiorari, the Cotes filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Tennessee Supreme Court, which was denied. In this appeal, Dr. Elkins and the State raise largely the same issues: (1) whether this appeal should be construed as a petition for a common law writ of certiorari pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 27-8-101 or as a petition for a statutory writ of certiorari pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 27-8-102, or both; and (2) whether the trial court erred by ordering Dr. Elkins's personal records to be disclosed for an in camera inspection. Because the Cotes failed to make a plausible showing that the requested information contained material evidence that was favorable to their defense, we reverse the trial court's order permitting an in camera review of the records and remand the case.