PHOENIX — Prosecutors are asking the Arizona Court of Appeals to reject arguments that an order for a nurse accused of raping and impregnating an incapacitated patient at a long-term care center to take an HIV test is unconstitutional.
Nathan Sutherland argues such a test would violate his protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and that there's no probable cause to believe he has a sexually transmitted disease.
The test was ordered under a law that says people accused of sexual assault are subject to STD tests.
Prosecutors say the law's absence of a probable-cause requirement doesn't violate constitutional protections.
Authorities say Sutherland was working as a nurse at Hacienda Healthcare in Phoenix when he raped the victim.
Sutherland pleaded not guilty to the charges.
