§ 1017 [Court-Appointed Psychotherapist Exception]

If a judge orders someone to see a psychotherapist for an evaluation, whatever that person says usually isn't protected by therapist-patient privilege. This means the psychotherapist can share what was discussed with the court, and it can potentially be used in the case. The whole point of this rule is that court-ordered evaluations are meant to give the court information, not to provide private therapy.

There's one big exception to this rule. If a criminal defendant's own lawyer asks the court to appoint a psychotherapist, just so the lawyer can figure out whether to argue insanity or raise a mental health defense, then privilege still applies. In that specific situation, what the defendant tells the psychotherapist stays private and protected, because the evaluation is meant to help the defense lawyer make decisions, not to give the prosecution information.

This rule also covers evaluations ordered by the Board of Prison Terms. If that board orders someone to be examined under certain parole-related laws, the same lack of privilege applies. In short, the person being evaluated should know that what they say in a court-ordered evaluation likely won't stay private, unless it's the specific defense-lawyer situation described above.