Questions on Criminal Law and Incarceration

This chapter contains 48 questions on criminal law and incarceration

Sex

Chapter 20 includes only one case, but that case was extremely influential for its time and established precedent for ethical guidelines in multiple mental health organizations. Roy v. Hartogs, in 1976, involved a psychiatrist who had sex with his patient as part of “therapy” and was subsequently found liable for malpractice. Although perhaps not very surprising in today’s clinical climate, this case was an important statement about the boundaries of psychiatric treatment.

Sexual Harassment

Chapter 19 describes cases that involve sexual harassment in the workplace. As a group, they have defined and applied such important concepts as a “hostile work environment” and “quid pro quo” and have established standards that forensic practitioners need to know when conducting evaluations for cases involving sexual harassment. The cases in this chapter are Meritor Bank v. Vinson, Harris Forklift Systems, Inc., and Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.

Right to Refuse Treatment

Chapter 9 describes cases related to one of the most important autonomy issues involved in the involuntary hospitalization of individuals with mental illness—the right to refuse treatment. These cases highlight the different judicial opinions about how to manage patients who refuse treatment as exemplified by the contrast between a treatment-driven approach in Rennie v. Klein, to a rights-driven approach in Rogers v. Commissioner. Other cases included in this chapter are Application of the President and Directors of Georgetown, Superintendent of Belchertown State School v. Joseph Saikowitz, and In the Matter of the Guardianship of Richard Roe, III.

Right to Treatment

Chapter 8 focuses on cases that involve the rights of individuals to receive adequate mental health treatment while involuntarily hospitalized through either civil commitment or insanity defense proceedings. These cases set the stage, many years ago, for environmental and clinical expectations of appropriate care. The cases in this chapter are Rouse v. Cameron, Wyatt v. Stickney, and Youngberg v. Romeo. Cases involving a right to treatment for prisoners are included in chapter 26.

Informed Consent

Chapter 2 deals specifically with the topic of informed consent, an essential legal requirement for the general practice of medicine. Some of the cases are specific to mental health treatment, but most are critical to defining the standards of informed consent and are related to more purely medical conditions. Cases described here include Natanson v. Kline, Canterbury v. Spence, Kaimowitz v. Michigan Department of Mental Health, Truman v. Thomas, Clites v. Iowa, and Zinermon v. Burch.

Criminal Competencies

Chapter 23 includes cases that are important for one of the staples of forensic psychiatric practice, competence to stand trial evaluations. Knowledge of the legal standards required for one to defend oneself, either with or without an attorney, is necessary for a practitioner to be able to capably assess whether a mental illness prevents a defendant from participating in the adjudication process. The cases in this chapter are Dusky v. U.S., Wilson v. U.S., Jackson v. Indiana, Drope v. Missouri, Godinez v. Moran, Cooper v. Oklahoma, and Indiana v. Edwards.

EAHCA (Education for All Handicapped Children Act); IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

Chapter 14 includes two cases involving the EAHCA, now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), that have heavily influenced the way public education is provided to schoolchildren with disabilities. Hendrick Hudson Board of Education v. Rowley helped to establish the requirements and limits of Individual Education Plans (IEP), a free academic service for any school child with a learning disability. Irving Independent School District v. Tatro, although specific to a child with spina bifida, helped to establish the medical care accommodations that a school must provide for a child with a physical disability.

Child Abuse Reporting

Chapter 11 covers three cases involving child abuse: Landeros v. Flood, People v. Stritzinger, and DeShaney v. Winnebago. Although it is now common practice for individuals who care for, educate, or treat children to be required to report child abuse, these cases highlight the evolution of that responsibility. Other themes include confidentiality of the reporting and the limits of state power in preventing child abuse.

Prisoners’ Rights

Chapter 26 includes a broad range of cases that relate to the rights of individuals detained in jails or prisons. Because the U.S. Constitution considers deprivation of liberty a significant harm, efforts are made to protect the rights, as much as possible, of those who are incarcerated. As related to mental health, those rights include medical and psychiatric care, right to refuse treatment, and due process rights related to psychiatric hospitalization. The cases in this chapter are Estelle v. Gamble, Vitek v. Jones, Washington v. Harper, Riggins v. Nevada, Farmer v. Brennan, Sell v. U.S., and Brown v. Plata.