UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
Criminal Action No. 16-98 (CKK)
IVAN L. ROBINSON,
Defendant
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
(July 11, 2017)
In this criminal action, Defendant Ivan L. Robinson is charged with 61 counts of
knowingly and intentionally distributing a controlled substance, oxycodone, by writing
prescriptions for that drug outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a
legitimate medical purpose, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C), as well as 18
U.S.C. § 2. Defendant is also charged with two counts of money laundering and aiding and
abetting. Now before the Court are numerous motions in limine addressing a wide range of
evidentiary issues.
In Defendant’s [146] Motion in Limine No. 18 to Exclude All Evidence and Argument
Related to Dr. Robinson’s Access of Practice Fusion System, Defendant moves the Court under
Federal Rule of Evidence 403 to preclude the government from offering evidence of or making
reference to Defendant’s accessing of his electronic patient records subsequent to February 2015.
Upon consideration of the pleadings, 1 the relevant legal authorities, and the record as a whole,
the Court will DENY Defendant’s eighteenth motion in limine.
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The Court’s consideration has focused on the following documents: Defendant’s Motion in
Limine No. 18 to Exclude All Evidence and Argument Related to Dr. Robinson’s Access of
Practice Fusion System, ECF No. 146 (“Def.’s Mot.”); Government’s Response in Opposition to
Defendant’s Motion in Limine No. 18, ECF No. 164 (“Gov.’s Opp’n”). The Court has also
considered the oral representations made at the Status Hearing on July 7, 2017.
I. DISCUSSION
Defendant maintained an electronic patient records system through a service called
Practice Fusion. Pursuant to search warrants issued in this case, Defendant’s access to his
account with that system—including his patients’ records—was revoked on February 4, 2015.
However, after that date, Defendant attempted to log into his account multiple times. When
attempting to sign in, Defendant was eventually given an automated option to reset his password
and reactivate his access. He did so, and viewed information for several patients over a period
of ten days.
At a July 7, 2017 hearing in this case, Defendant’s counsel represented that Defendant
was not aware that law enforcement had accessed his Practice Fusion account and had locked
him out of that account at the time that he was attempting to regain access. The Court credits
this representation for the purposes of this motion. However, Defendant did become aware that
law enforcement had accessed his account once he successfully logged into Practice Fusion.
Once he logged into his account, Defendant was able to see that a new account had been set up
for access to his patient records, entitled “Law Enforcement.” Defendant changed the “Law
Enforcement” account name to “Ms. Law Enforcement” and deactivated that account, thereby
blocking the government’s access to his patient records. The government subsequently called
Practice Fusion and had its access reinstated and Defendant’s access once again revoked. There
is no dispute that Defendant did not tamper with, alter or otherwise change any patient records
during the period he had access to them.
Defendant contends that evidence of his logging into Practice Fusion is inadmissible
under Rule 403. He contends that the mere fact that he accessed certain files is not relevant to
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any fact in this case because no records were altered, and that any probative value this evidence
might have would be outweighed by the risk that the jury might speculate “as to his motives or as
to other effects that he may have caused.” Def.’s Mot. at 4. Defendant is also concerned that
the government may introduce testimony that one of the patients whose records Defendant
viewed was an individual who subsequently died, presumably from an oxycodone overdose. Id.
The Court has previously ruled that the government shall not present evidence of the death of
Defendant’s patients. See June 19, 2017 Mem. Op. & Order, ECF No. 122. The government
has represented that it will not introduce any such evidence.
However, the government does intend to offer evidence that Defendant logged into
Practice Fusion and disabled the government’s access to his patient records, and contends that
this is relevant and not subject to exclusion under Rule 403. The Court agrees. The fact that
Defendant accessed his patient records while under investigation and knowingly deactivated the
government’s access to those records is probative of Defendant’s knowledge of the importance
of patient records, a key issue in this case. This evidence is also probative of Defendant’s state
of mind, which is also a key issue in this case, given that the charged drug distribution offense is
a specific intent crime. The probative value of this evidence for these purposes outweighs any
countervailing Rule 403 considerations.
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II. CONCLUSION AND ORDER
For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Defendant’s [146] Motion in Limine No.
18. Accordingly, it is, this 11th day of July, 2017, hereby
ORDERED that the government may offer evidence and make arguments related to
Defendant’s accessing of his electronic patient records system, Practice Fusion, subsequent to
February 2015. The Court’s rulings are based only on the present record.
SO ORDERED.
/s
COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY
United States District Judge
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