ALBANY – A U.S. court has no more authority to order a federal employee to testify in state court against his employer's wishes than a state judge does, Northern District Judge Lawrence Kahn (See Profile) has determined.
Kahn ruled Monday in Portaleos v. Shannon, 5:12-cv-1359, and Portaleos v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 5:12-cv-1652, that he cannot compel a psychiatrist for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to testify at an Onondaga Family Court child custody proceeding involving Shaun Portaleos, a former Marine treated at the V.A. hospital in Syracuse.
