Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Depending on the nature of your lawsuit, you may seek either a protective order if they're subpoenaed, or may move in limine to prevent their use at trial. Defense counsel might be telling you this to make you concerned and to make you unable to concentrate on the important aspects of your case.

Different kinds of evidence are appropriate in different kinds of cases. You haven't told us anything about the substance of your case, so we have no way to assess whether the defendant has a legitimate reason to introduce your psychiatric records. If you have a lawyer, you should discuss this issue with him right away. If you don't, you should get one -- or least consult with one to learn more about your rights.

The big concern that I have is relevance. Relevance is governed by Evidence Code section 210. "Relevant evidence" means evidence, including evidence relevant to the credibility of a witness or hearsay declarant, having any tendency in reason to prove or disprove any disputed fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action." ((Evid. Code, sect. 210.)

"No evidence is admissible except relevant evidence." (Evid. Code, sect. 350.)

You may also have privacy rights, and patient psychotherapist privilege. (Evid. Code, sect. 1010.)

It sounds like to me that the attorney is distracting you by trying to intimidate you with something embarassing. But my threshold question remains, how is this relevant?