Staff Reports
Tiger Woods’ legal team has a new deadline to worry about and the State Attorney’s Office just raised the stakes. Prosecutors in Martin County say they will seek the golf legend’s hospital records from Cleveland Clinic Martin South as part of their DUI case. This isn’t gossip — it’s a formal notice of intent to subpoena medical files, and it matters because those records could contain drug screens and statements about alcohol or substance use.
Prosecutors move to subpoena hospital records
The notice from the State Attorney’s Office in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, led by State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl, says the subpoena will be issued on June 30 and gives Tiger Woods’ lawyers until June 25 to file any objections. The filing reportedly seeks “any and all reports documenting statements of the patient regarding alcohol or chemical substances use” and “any and all drug screen results,” plus the names of hospital staff who treated or tested him. That language makes clear prosecutors want the raw medical facts, not just stories.
What the subpoena seeks — and why
Police say deputies saw signs of impairment after Woods’ March rollover crash, that he agreed to a breath test showing no alcohol and refused a urine test, and that deputies found two hydrocodone pills on his person. Those investigative facts explain why prosecutors think the Cleveland Clinic records could be relevant. If the hospital has drug screen results or contemporaneous notes where Woods discussed substance use, prosecutors will argue those records go straight to whether he was impaired.
Privacy fight and the prescription-records precedent
Don’t expect those hospital files to be handed over without a fight. Medical records are protected, and defense lawyers can argue privacy and relevance. But there is a recent precedent: a judge allowed prosecutors to obtain Woods’ prescription records from a Palm Beach pharmacy under a protective order. That ruling showed a court is willing to balance privacy with the state’s need for evidence, and it set up a model — a narrow subpoena plus strict limits on who can see the records — prosecutors will likely ask for again.
What to watch next
The immediate story is simple: will Woods’ lawyers file a timely objection by June 25, and will a judge hold a hearing to decide how broad any subpoena can be? Watch for whether the court limits the request to specific tests or statements and whether a protective order will shield the records from public view. The outcome will tell us if celebrity status changes the rules, or if the justice system will treat this like any other DUI investigation. Either way, the next moves will be a clear signal of how far prosecutors will go to pursue evidence in this case — and how far defense teams will push back to protect privacy.
