Courtroom Weekly: Medical woes across the nation

August 29, 2013

by: the State Court Staff

Court cases run the gamut from birth to death amidst legal ramifications of drugs, sex and illnesses

Courtroom Weekly The latest and greatest in court cases around the nation In this issue... Featured case News from Florida News from Minnesota News from Mississippi News from Ohio

Featured case Former teacher sentenced to 30 days in jail for rape of a student   Court: Montana 13th Judicial District Court By Matt Latourelle Judge G. Todd Baugh, of Montana's 13th Judicial District Court, issued a controversial ruling on August 26, 2013, sentencing former high-school teacher, Stacey Dean Rambold to 30 days in jail for the rape of student Cherice Moralez. While many have expressed outrage at what they see as a soft sentence, Judge Baugh has defended his ruling by stating that the situation was more complicated than the typical rape case. Rambold was charged with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent in 2008. At the time of their relationship, Rambold was 49 and Moralez was 14. However, while the case was still pending, Moralez committed suicide, just prior to her 17th birthday. Her mother, Auliea Hanlon, later testified that the sexual relationship with Rambold was a "major factor" in her daughter's suicide. Moralez's death put the case on hold and an agreement to dismiss the charges was made if Rambold met certain conditions, including the completion of a treatment program for sex offenders. Rambold did, however, admit to one of the rape charges. The case resurfaced at the end of last year, after Rambold was terminated from the treatment program. He was kicked out after breaking a number of rules, including unsupervised visits with minors (even though they were his family members) and failing to inform his counselors about his sexual relations. Chief Deputy County Attorney Rod Souza asked for a sentence of 20 years in prison with 10 years suspended. Instead, Judge Baugh sentenced Rambold to 15 years in prison, with all but 31 days suspended. One of those days of jail time was credited back to Rambold for time already served. Judge Baugh stated during the hearing that he thought Moralez was "as much in control of the situation" as Rambold and that she seemed "older than her chronological age." He later apologized for these remarks in a letter to the Billings Gazette, saying that the comments were "demeaning of all women, not what I believe and irrelevant to the sentencing." Baugh defended his ruling, however, explaining: “ Obviously, a 14-year-old can't consent. I think that people have in mind that this was some violent, forcible, horrible rape...It was horrible enough as it is just given her age, but it wasn't this forcible beat-up rape. ” He went on to state that a 30-day jail sentence for rape, on the surface, would seem "crazy," but the case was more complicated than it seems, especially due to Moralez's death. Some are calling for disciplinary measures against Judge Baugh. Marian Bradley, of the Montana National Organization for Women, stated: “ Unless we show our outrage, none of our children are safe, and no one will think of us. I think the judge needs to be reviewed, and he needs to be sanctioned. ”

News from Florida Judge allows MLB lawsuit against its players   Court: Florida 11th Circuit Court By Jong Son A Miami-Dade circuit court judge has denied a motion to dismiss a civil suit being brought against Biogenesis, a Florida clinic accused of providing performance-enhancing drugs to Major League Baseball (MLB) players and other athletes. In effect, Judge Ronald Dresnick’s ruling means that the MLB can use the courts to force witnesses to testify under oath in its attempt to substantiate the claims made by Tony Bosch, the founder of Biogenesis, that the clinic provided banned substances to its clients. Those seeking the dismissal of the suit have argued that the MLB should not be able to bring action against third parties who are not part of the collective bargaining agreement set forth between the MLB and the Players’ Association. Contracts between the players and MLB expressly prohibit the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), and the suit accuses Biogenesis and Tony Bosch of meddling with this arrangement. Bosch, himself, is a plaintiff in the case and is currently working with the MLB to name players who have used PEDs. The MLB, in exchange, has stated they will drop the suit against Bosch and pay for his legal fees. The Biogenesis scandal has already involved two baseball stars: Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees and Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers. Braun, who has admitted to violating MLB policies, has already been suspended without pay for the rest of the season, and Rodriguez, whose cousin has been subpoenaed, may face a lengthy suspension as well. Now that the suit can go forward, the MLB will be able to procure sworn testimonies from employees at Biogenesis as well as individuals close to the players who may have knowledge of any alleged doping. ESPN has reported that as many as twenty players may face suspensions for their involvement with Biogenesis.

News from Minnesota Minnesota Supreme Court affirms reversal of criminal conviction for transfer of HIV   Court: Minnesota Supreme Court By Ryan Cherry The Supreme Court of Minnesota, on August 21, 2013, upheld a decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals which reversed the conviction of Daniel Rick. Rick was being accused of attempted first-degree assault by transferring a communicable disease in violation of the communicable-disease statute. The Court of Appeals based the reversal on a finding that the portion of the statute criminalizing the "transfer of blood, sperm, organs, or tissue" was ambiguous. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision by the Court of Appeals, stating that this portion of the statute "applies to the donation or exchange for value of blood, sperm, organs, or tissue and therefore does not apply to acts of sexual conduct." The grounds for the charges arose because Rick informed his partner of his HIV status, the two mutually agreed not to use condoms, and they engaged in consensual intercourse. The state then brought charges against Rick, when the relationship had ended, based on an interpretation of the communicable disease statute which would allow for criminal charges anytime there was a transfer of sperm by someone suffering from particular communicable diseases. This outcome would result even in cases where, as in this case, there has been a full disclosure of the presence of the communicable disease. Rick's attorneys argued that the portion of the statute at issue did not apply to consensual, informed sexual intimacy, and that "any other interpretation yields absurd results." Terri Nelson, the legal director of the ACLU of Minnesota stated that the decision by the Supreme Court "rightly protects Minnesotans from unconstitutional intrusions into their private conduct." However, since the Supreme Court was able to decide the case on statutory grounds, the constitutional issues that were raised on appeal were not even addressed by the court. After affirming that the statute was ambiguous, the court looked to earlier proposed versions of the statute to determine what the legislature may have intended the statute to mean. Once the court found that the legislature intended the portion at issue to apply only to medical transactions, Rick's conviction could no longer stand and the court was able to avoid addressing constitutional issues unnecessarily.

News from Mississippi Mississippi Supreme Court dismisses charges against mother in stillbirth case   Court: Mississippi Supreme Court By Alma Cook The Mississippi Supreme Court agreed with a Lamar County circuit judge when it dismissed charges against a woman who suffered a stillbirth because of alleged drug use during pregnancy. Nancy Buckhalter was 31 weeks pregnant when she gave birth to a stillborn baby girl, Hayley Jade, in March of 2009. Upon an autopsy, methamphetamines were discovered in the fetus' system, leading the medical examiner to declare the death a homicide. Buckhalter was arrested in 2010 and charged with negligent culpable manslaughter. The case never went to trial. It was dismissed by the Lamar County Circuit Court in April 2010 on the grounds that Mississippi state law doesn't hold pregnant women responsible for the deaths of their unborn children. (The law in question dealt only with miscarriages caused by third parties—not those caused by the mother herself.) District Attorney Haldon Kittrell appealed the dismissal, insisting—in the midst of fears that convicting Buckhalter could set a dangerous precedent—that this was "one case, a specific case with specific facts and a specific finding that made a connection between the ingestion of drugs and the death of child. We felt we had no choice under the circumstances to proceed under the law." Several medical groups like the American Medical Association and the Mississippi Psychological Association offered their two cents in the form of friend-of-the-court briefs, advocating for Buckhalter. Wrote the AMA, “ Many people wrongly believe that women have a high degree of control over their pregnancy outcomes. The longstanding and constant medical reality, however, is that as many as 20-30 percent of all pregnancies will end in miscarriage or stillbirth. ” Because of the difficulties in determining the cause of a miscarriage—and because of the vagueness of the state's willful miscarriage statute—the Supreme Court found the charges "fatally flawed" and proceeded to dismiss the case on August 8.

News from Ohio Medical decisions made by parents and child overruled by hospital and an Ohio appeals court   Court: Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals By Susan Lawrence The Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals issued an opinion on August 27, 2013, overturning a ruling made by the Medina County Probate Court. According to the appellate court, the lower court erred when it found there were no grounds to grant a limited guardianship over a minor child suffering from leukemia. Akron Children's Hospital was seeking to establish the guardianship for the purpose of continuing the child's chemotherapy treatment, against the wishes of both the child, a ten-year-old girl, and her parents. The girl, Sarah Hershberger, was admitted to Akron Children's Hospital in April 2013 for symptoms of fatigue and a visible tumor near her neck which was causing breathing difficulties. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 Lympoblastic Lymphoma. Doctors recommended she undergo a two-year chemotherapy treatment regimen. According to testimony from her doctor, with the treatment Sarah could expect an 85 percent chance of recovery from her cancer. Her parents agreed to the treatment, but they later indicated the doctors did not completely explain the side effects their daughter might suffer. Six weeks into her chemotherapy treatment plan, at the beginning of June 2013, Sarah began to beg her parents to let her stop the treatments due to the terrible side effects. Her parents began believing the chemotherapy was killing Sarah. The family lives on a farm and sells produce from a stand near the village of Spencer, 35 miles southwest of Cleveland. Sarah, her parents and seven other siblings, are members of an Amish community which often rejects the use of modern conveniences. According to her father, the Amish believe it is sometimes acceptable to use modern medicine, but they have chosen to try treating Sarah with natural remedies, herbs and vitamins. Another doctor is currently providing care for their daughter and supervising the new treatment. Sarah's father says his daughter has more energy and is able to run and play again. According to Sarah's father, they haven't ruled out the hospital completely. He said, “ We told them if it gets to the point that we cannot do anything for her, we would come back. ” The hospital describes the matter as a disagreement between the hospital's medical experts and the girls' parents over the best course of treatment. The chief medical officer at the hospital, Robert McGregor, indicated the hospital has a moral and legal obligation to make sure the child has the best and most appropriate care based on scientific evidence. They believe that Sarah will die without chemotherapy. In discussing the opinion issued by the appellate court, John Oberholtzer, the attorney representing the girl and her family, argued that the appellate ruling disregards the rights of the parents. According to the appellate court, the lower court's consideration of the issue was legally inadequate. Under Ohio law, there are three grounds for appointing a limited guardian. These include: 1) whether the minor has parents, 2) whether the minor's parents are unsuitable or 3) whether the minor's interests will be promoted by the appointment of the guardian. In this matter, the court indicated the probate court could have appointed the guardian according to the third option. Instead, the trial court denied the motion by Maria Schimer, that she be appointed as a limited guardian because there was no evidence to show the parents were unfit. However, the appeals court ruled, in order to be appointed as a guardian, Schimer was not required to show Sarah's parents were unfit. The court vacated the July 31 decision and sent the case back to the probate court so it could be decided again, in accordance with applicable state laws and the opinion of the appeals court.

See also

• Courtroom Weekly