Florida court clears Tiger Woods prescription pharmacy files for prosecutors in March DUI matter

STUART, Florida (AP): A sitting judge has directed that Tiger Woods' paperwork listing which medicines he collected on prescription be furnished to the state after officers detained him in March on a Florida roadway amid belief he was impaired behind the wheel; the decision landed early yesterday.

After submissions lasting only about four minutes at the Martin County circuit courthouse, which sits just north of Palm Beach County, Judge Darren Steele endorsed an arrangement negotiated between Woods' defence attorney and the prosecution.

The prosecution had served a subpoena demanding complete pharmacy ledgers for Woods at a Palm Beach outlet covering 1 January through 31 March. Doug Duncan, who represents Woods in the matter, had earlier contended that the US Constitution shields private facts about a patient's prescriptions, yet he told the court that the safeguard is not unlimited and that the state could outline persuasive grounds for disclosure.

The prosecution also granted Duncan's motion for a protective order so that the material may be seen solely by prosecutors, sworn police personnel, government-appointed experts, and Woods' defence lawyers.

Woods maintains he did not drive while impaired. A sheriff's office filing states deputies recovered two pain-relief tablets from his clothing and recorded evidence of reduced faculties after his sport utility vehicle struck the rear of a truck trailer and flipped onto its side.

The collision report further states Woods was moving quickly along a seaside residential lane on Jupiter Island where the posted cap is 30 mph (about 50 km/h); his Land Rover inflicted roughly US$5,000 in damage on the truck. Officials say Woods submitted to a Breathalyzer examination that registered no alcohol but declined to give a urine sample.