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

Mr. L was a mentally retarded person who was incapable of consenting to medical treatment. From the age of 13, he had been a resident at the Bournewood Hospital which was governed by the appellant, NHS Trust. Mr. L was discharged from the hospital on a trial basis into the community with paid carers, though …Read more

L, who was profoundly mentally retarded and incapable of consenting to medical treatment, was admitted informally for in-patient treatment by an National Health Service Trust as he appeared fully compliant and did not resist admission. As a consequence the Trust avoided invoking the Mental Health Act regime. L applied, by his next friend, for judicial …Read more

The parents of a mentally-disabled woman requested that the court authorize the sterilization of their daughter.  According to the Article 428 of the Criminal Code made in accordance with Article 6 LO 3/89 of 21 June (the “challenged provision”), sterilization of a disabled person who suffered from serious psychological deficiency would not be unlawful if the …Read more

“Marion” was a fourteen year old girl with an “intellectual disability”, severe deafness, epilepsy, an ataxic gait and “behavioural problems”. She could not care for herself. Her parents proposed that Marion undertake a hysterectomy and an ovarienectomy (the Procedures). The hysterectomy was proposed to prevent natural pregnancy and menstruation and the psychological and behavioural consequences …Read more

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

Eve was a mentally disabled young woman suffering from a condition that made it extremely difficult for her to communicate with others. She was not capable of understanding the consequential relationship between intercourse, pregnancy and birth.  Mrs. E, her mother, was concerned that Eve might innocently become pregnant, which would mean that she, an elderly …Read more

The Appellant, Ford, was convicted of murder in a Florida state court and sentenced to death in 1974. There was no suggestion that he was incompetent at the time of the offense, at trial, or at sentencing. However in 1982, Ford began to manifest gradual changes in behavior, which, based on a psychiatric examination, indicated …Read more

The Respondents, Cleburne Living Center (CLC) and others, brought suit against the City of Cleburne (the City) and a number of its officials, alleging that a zoning ordinance, and its application, violated the equal protection rights of CLC and its potential residents. CLC intended to lease a building for the operation of a group home …Read more

The applicant, a father of a mentally handicapped woman, found himself unable to institute criminal proceedings against an individual who had sexually assaulted his daughter due to a gap in the domestic criminal laws of the Netherlands, which required the victim to file the complaint herself. Although the victim was more than sixteen years of …Read more