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Full-Text Articles in Law

Mental Disorder And The Civil/Criminal Distinction, Grant H. Morris Sep 2004

Mental Disorder And The Civil/Criminal Distinction, Grant H. Morris

University of San Diego Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper Series

This essay, written as part of a symposium issue to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the University of San Diego Law School, discusses the evaporating distinction between sentence-serving convicts and mentally disordered nonconvicts who are involved in, or who were involved in, the criminal process–people we label as both bad and mad. By examining one Supreme Court case from each of the decades that follow the opening of the University of San Diego School of Law, the essay demonstrates how the promise that nonconvict mentally disordered persons would be treated equally with other civilly committed mental patients was made and …


Human Rights Treaty Drafting Through The Lens Of Mental Disability: The Proposed International Convention On Protection And Promotion Of The Rights And Dignity Of Persons With Disabilities, Aaron A. Dhir Apr 2004

Human Rights Treaty Drafting Through The Lens Of Mental Disability: The Proposed International Convention On Protection And Promotion Of The Rights And Dignity Of Persons With Disabilities, Aaron A. Dhir

Cornell Law School Inter-University Graduate Student Conference Papers

In this piece I explore whether, if established, the proposed International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities will be an effective way to limit abuses of the rights of persons diagnosed with mental disabilities. In Section I, I discuss the failure of international human rights law to effectively address these abuses to date. In Section II, I consider the debate surrounding the need for a disability-specific Convention. In Section III, I argue that in order for the proposed Convention to be effective, and not simply a hollow mechanism, it must reject the …