Ahmad Rahimi, the man suspected of carrying out the bombings in New York and New Jersey last month, appeared in New Jersey Superior Court to plead not guilty to several charges against him. Since he's still in the hospital recovering from injuries, his appearance was via video conference. Unfortunately, in appearing in court in this manner, Rahimi's right to medical privacy was compromised, and federal law was violated.
Images and video of Rahimi's appearance have since circulated widely in the media, as is typical in such cases. Because Rahimi, who is referred to as Rahami in some court documents, appeared from his hospital bed, astute observers easily gleaned several details of Rahimi's health that otherwise would not have been apparent. The revelation of these details should not affect Rahimi's legal case, but they do appear to violate federal law, via HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which protects patients' personal health information.
