Police officers entered a private residence in response to a report of a disturbance and came upon two men engaged in a sexual act. The men were arrested for and charged with violating a Texas state criminal law that prohibited “deviate sexual intercourse [defined as oral or anal sex] with another individual of the same sex.” …Read more

Residents of Ilo, Peru and representatives of deceased Ilo residents brought personal injury claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act (“ATCA”) against Southern Peru Copper Corporation (“SPCC”). SPCC was majority-owned by Asarco, a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Peru. Asarco was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, S.A. de C.V., a …Read more

The Appellant, Atkins, a mentally disabled individual, was convicted of capital murder and related crimes by a Virginia jury and sentenced to death. He brought this appeal alleging that he could not be sentenced to death because executing the mentally disabled would constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” as prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

The Appellant, Montgomery, was an inmate at the East Jersey State Prison (the Prison). Montgomery suffered from a heart condition and was HIV-positive. He brought these proceedings against prison administrative officials, the private corporate entity providing medical care to the prison (CMS), and a physician employed by CMS as an independent contractor at the prison. …Read more

Petitioners were former patients who received obstetrical care at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), a public hospital in the city of Charleston, and who were arrested after testing positive for cocaine. In 1988, concerns arose among MUSC staff about an apparent increase in the use of cocaine by patients who were receiving prenatal …Read more

The Respondent, Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative (Cooperative), was a not-for-profit medical cannabis dispensary established after California voters enacted a measure that created “an exception to California laws” that prohibited “the possession and cultivation of marijuana.” The Cooperative had a physician as its medical director, registered nurses as staff during business hours, and dispensed marijuana to …Read more

Appellants, the Does, an interracial couple with an HIV-positive foster son (Adam), approached the Respondents, Centre County (the County), seeking to adopt another child through the County’s foster care program. The County had a statutory duty to investigate foster parent applications in order to preserve the physical and emotional health of foster children. The Does …Read more

The Appellant, Doe, an HIV-positive former inmate of the State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh (SCIP), brought this claim against SCIP officials, alleging that prison practices violated his constitutional right to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. SCIP medical staff informed Doe that his HIV status would be kept confidential. However, because of practices …Read more

Carhart, a physician who performed abortions, brought suit challenging the constitutional validity of a Nebraska statute which prohibited non-lifesaving “partial birth abortions.” The statute defined this procedure as “deliberately and intentionally delivering into the vagina a living unborn child, or a substantial portion thereof, for the purpose of performing a procedure that the person performing …Read more

In connection with an investigation into federal healthcare offenses, the Respondents, Dr Bailey and a professional healthcare association, were served with four subpoenas from the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia as authorized under 18 U.S.C. § 3486. The subpoenas required, among other things, the production of patient medical records. Section 3486(e)(1) …Read more

The Appellant, Herring, brought this suit alleging a violation of his constitutional right to privacy after his federal probation officer, Keenan, improperly disclosed his HIV status to his sister and to his restaurant employer. In December 1993, Herring voluntarily informed his probation officer that he had taken an HIV test and that he might be …Read more

The Respondents, L. C. and E. W., both mentally disabled women, brought proceedings against the State alleging that the State’s failure to place them in a community-based program, after their treating professional had determined that such a placement was appropriate, violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Title II of …Read more

After disclosing she was HIV-positive on a patient registration form, Respondent Abbott was informed by her dentist, Petitioner, of his policy against filling cavities of HIV-infected patients. Petitioner offered to perform the work at a hospital with no added service fee, but with the cost of the use of the hospital’s facilities borne by Respondent. …Read more

The Respondent, Yeskey, brought this claim against Pennsylvania’s Department of Corrections alleging that his exclusion from a prison Motivational Boot Camp because of his medical history of hypertension violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). ADA Title II prohibited a “public entity” from discriminating, excluding or denying benefits to a “qualified individual with …Read more

The Defendant, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (“Lawrence”) conducted mandatory pre-placement examinations of their employees. This mandatory exam took place after an employment offer but prior to the start of job duties. Each of the plaintiffs (current and former workers of the Defendant) had undergone this mandatory pre-placement exam. During these exams, plaintiffs completed medical history questionnaires …Read more

The plaintiff (Sidney Abbott), an asymptomatic HIV-individual, brought a discrimination suit against the defendant (Randon Bragdon), a dentist who refused to fill the plaintiff’s cavity in his dental office. Plaintiff asserted that this refusal of dental treatment was a violation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §12182 (1994), and the Maine Human …Read more

Plaintiffs, the Causey family, brought this petition for damages against defendants, St. Francis Medical Center (SFMC) and Dr. Harter, for administering treatment to decedent, Sonya Causey, without consent which they argued as an intentional tort outside of the scope of Louisiana’s Medical Malpractice Act. Claims that fell within the Medical Malpractice Act must be submitted …Read more

Respondents, physicians operating in New York and gravelly-ill patients (who had died prior to the appeal), asserted that, though it was consistent with the standards of medical practice to “prescribe lethal medication for ‘mentally competent, terminally ill patients’ who are suffering great pain and desire a doctor’s help in taking their own lives, they [were] …Read more

Under the Wash. Rev. Code §9A36.060 (1) it was a crime to cause or aid another person to commit suicide. In 1996, a lower court struck down this law on the basis it violated an individual’s constitutionally protected right to choose the time and manner of death. The petitioners, the State of Washington and its …Read more

The Appellants, Doe and Roe, brought this claim alleging that the respondent, Marsh, violated their right to privacy under the US Constitution. Doe and Roe were HIV positive individuals active in various HIV/AIDS support and advocacy organizations; both had participated in educational seminars for social workers and educators focused on HIV prevention. The seminars were …Read more

Respondent, Redmond, received counseling from a licensed clinical social worker after a “traumatic incident” in which she shot and killed a man while on duty as a police officer. Petitioner, Allen, the administrator of the estate of the deceased, filed an action in the Federal District Court seeking damages and alleging that Respondent had violated …Read more

Plaintiff, Yin, brought an action against her employer, the State of California Employment Department, to prohibit them from requiring her to release her medical records, submit to an examination, and be subject to discipline for refusing to do so. Yin had a “prolonged and egregious history of absenteeism and a record of on-the-job illnesses.” She …Read more

Petitioners (supporters of Amendment 2) brought this appeal from the Colorado State Supreme Court where that court affirmed a lower court’s ruling that Amendment 2 was invalid. Amendment 2 barred the State of Colorado from enacting, adopting or enforcing anti-discrimination laws which would have protected homosexuals, gays and lesbians. Prior to Amendment 2, multiple cities …Read more

The Appellant, Doe, was an HIV-positive employee of Respondent SEPTA. Doe brought this constitutional challenge after SEPTA reviewed his prescription drug records for the purpose of monitoring its employee prescription plan. Doe claimed that SEPTA infringed his right to privacy implicit in the right to due process in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Doe …Read more

The Appellee, Anderson, brought this challenge against two prison officials at the cell house in which he was placed. Anderson alleged that a superintendent and a guard violated his constitutional right to privacy and the Illinois AIDS Confidentiality Act by revealing that he was infected with the AIDS virus to an inmate sleeping in Anderson’s …Read more

Respondent, Steven McCourt, as representative of his wife, Wendy McCourt, brought wrongful death and survival causes of action against appellant physicians, Glenn Abertnathy and J.D. Clyde and Family Medicine Associates. Decedent Wendy McCourt sought treatment from appellants in December 1987. Dr. Abernathy obtained a history from Wendy revealing a history of liver problems. In March …Read more

The Appellant, Doe, brought this suit against the City of New York  (the City) and the City of New York Commission on Human Rights (the Commission) alleging that they breached his constitutional right to privacy. Doe filed an action with the Commission against his former employer, Delta Air Lines (Delta), alleging that Delta did not …Read more

The Appellant, Doe, a prisoner incarcerated in Kentucky, brought this challenge alleging his constitutional rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments were violated by Policy 13.5 (the Policy), a Kentucky rule which restricted the eligibility of inmates for “at-request” HIV testing. In January 1989, at an initial medical screening following his incarceration, Doe requested that …Read more

The Appellant brought this appeal challenging the District Court’s grant of summary judgment declaring that the Appellant had not suffered an “injury in fact” and therefore had no standing. The Appellant was arrested at a retail store and the arresting police officer discovered, through a piece of paper in the Appellant’s wallet, that the Appellant …Read more

The plaintiff brought suit for invasion of privacy against the defendant, a broadcasting company, for the failure to adequately digitize the claimant’s image in a televised show on the topic of AIDS. The plaintiff was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. While originally depressed and in poor condition after diagnosis, the plaintiff had a turnaround in …Read more