Sawt Falasteen - Woods fights subpoena for prescription drug records in DUI case

Attorney Douglas Duncan said in documents filed with the Martin County Court that Woods has a constitutional right to privacy regarding the records, unless the state can convince the court such records are relevant to the criminal investigation of Woods.

"The defense objects to the issuance of a subpoena and requests the court to conduct a hearing to determine if the prescription records are 'relevant to the criminal investigation,'" Duncan wrote in a motion filed on Tuesday.

Should the court grant a subpoena, Duncan asks that the records be reviewed "confidentially" by parties interested in the case and that "the records shall not be disclosed to any third party, including an Order prohibiting the dissemination of the records by the State in response to any public records request."

Woods, 50, pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence in a March 27 road accident in which his vehicle clipped a truck while attempting to overtake on a residential road.

Woods's SUV flipped onto its side and slid to a stop, the golfer climbing out the passenger side.

Authorities determined he had not been drinking alcohol but found that he appeared to be impaired and he was found with two pills containing hydrocodone, an opioid painkiller, in his pocket.

Woods, who refused to take a urine analysis test, was charged with misdemeanor DUI and refusal to submit to a lawful test and distracted driving.

The 15-time major champion told officers at the scene that he had been looking at his phone and hadn't realized the truck and trailer had slowed in front of him.

Woods, who has undergone multiple back operations and surgeries on severe leg injuries that he suffered in a 2021 California car crash, said in a statement days after the accident that he was "stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health."

The court granted him permission to leave the country, and he is believed to have entered a treatment facility in Switzerland.

O.Salim--SF-PST