F was a 36 year old adult woman who suffered from a disability that left her with the mental capacity of a young child.  She had been a voluntary in-patient at a mental hospital since the age of 14, where she received treatment and enjoyed a great degree of freedom of movement. Although the facility …Read more

  The applicant, a French citizen, struggled with depression, schizophrenia and, at some points, symptoms of catatonia.  In May of 1961, the applicant, who was a primary school supply teacher, voluntarily reported to the neurological clinic at Strasbourg Hospital for observation. He expected to be in the hospital for two weeks. In June of 1961, …Read more

Respondent, Lee, was charged with attempted robbery, malicious wounding, and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. The Commonwealth of Virginia sought to compel Respondent to undergo a surgical procedure to remove a bullet lodged in his chest; petitioners alleged that the bullet would provide evidence of Respondent’s guilt or …Read more

The employer of an injured steel erector sued its employee, seeking an injunction that would require the employee to undergo radical surgery to obtain relief from a hernia. The hernia, which arose out of and in the course of the employee’s designated work, rendered the employee incapable of performing key work functions. As per the …Read more

Petitioner brought a constitutional challenge to provisions of Oklahoma’s Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act of 1935 (the Act), which permitted sentences of compulsory sterilization for “habitual offenders” in crimes involving “moral turpitude.”  Pursuant to section 195 of the Act, the same sentence did not extend to white-collar crimes, defined as those “offenses arising out of the …Read more