211090P.pdf   07/13/2023  United States  v.  Ira Alan Arias
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  21-1090
   U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota - Northern   
   [PUBLISHED] [Erickson, Author, with Shepherd and Grasz, Circuit Judges] 
   Criminal case - Criminal law. After a jury convicted defendant of 
   aggravated sexual abuse of a child, this court remanded for in camera 
   review on the issue whether the refusal to allow defense counsel access to 
   the victim's mental health records was harmless in light of the victim's 
   testimony at trial that she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress 
   disorder after the alleged assault by defendant, see United States v. 
   Arias, 936 F.3d 793 (8th Cir. 2019). Held: on remand, the district court 
   erred in finding the non-disclosure of the victim's mental health records 
   was harmless, as the victim's mental health was a hotly contested issue 
   throughout the proceeding, and the records included information that 
   tended to undermine the veracity of the victim's testimony and refuted the 
   unmistakable impression the victim's testimony left with the jury that the 
   alleged sexual assault was the underlying cause for her PTSD diagnosis; 
   the prosecutor's questioning of the victim as to her post-assault 
   diagnoses, while defendant's access to her mental health records was 
   restricted and his ability to cross-examine her about her mental health 
   diagnoses was limited, resulted in an incomplete and inaccurate picture of 
   the victim's mental health and deprived defendant of his constitutional 
   right to introduce evidence in favor of his defense. Judge Shepherd, 
   dissenting.