United States v. Shinderman, No. 07-1569 (1st Cir. Jan. 29, 2008)

The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of a lower court against a physician for criminal charges arising from his unauthorized use of another physician's name and Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") registration number.

Federal law stipulates that any physician who prescribes a controlled substance must possess a state-specific DEA registration number. However, when Maine pharmacies refused to fill the physician's prescription he wrote with his Illinois DEA number while he was working at a clinic located in Maine, the physician began using another physician's Maine-specific DEA number to write prescriptions for controlled substances. Among other issues, the physician appealed the use of confidential substance abuse treatment records at trial in connection with a criminal case. The appellate court held that when a court issues a disclosure order, the protected parties must be afforded an opportunity to seek revocation or amendment of that order. However, that regulation does not mandate immediate notice to the protected parties, as the physician claimed. Therefore, the appellate court held that the physician was given a fair trial.