COURT SAYS MEDICAL DATA IN LICENSE FILES IS PRIVATE.(Local)

Byline: John Caher Staff writer

Personal medical information, included on a driver's license application and maintained in government files, is not subject to the state Freedom of Information Law, New York's top court ruled Tuesday.

The Court of Appeals unanimously concluded that it would be an "unwarranted invasion of privacy" to reveal, against a motorist's wishes, that he or she suffers from a physical disability. Other information on a driver's license application, however, remains open to public inspection and can be obtained at any Department of Motor Vehicle office.

w Tuesday's decision stemmed from an attempt by a Poughkeepsie attorney to …