Medical Jurisprudence Commons^™

Courts Beyond Judging, Michael C. Pollack

Articles

Across all fifty states, a woefully understudied institution of government is responsible for a broad range of administrative, legislative, law enforcement, and judicial functions. That important institution is the state courts. While the literature has examined the federal courts and federal judges from innumerable angles, study of the state courts as institutions of state government — and not merely as sources of doctrine and resolvers of disputes — has languished. This Article remedies that oversight by drawing attention for the first time to the wide array of roles state courts serve, and by evaluating the suitability of both the allocation …

Material Lives: Amending The False Claims Act To Restore Qui Tam Medicaid Enforcement And Protect Our Most Vulnerable Communities, C. Deen

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

In 2016, the Supreme Court granted cert. in Universal Health Services, Inc. v United States ex rel. Escobar to resolve a circuit split on implied certification under the False Claims Act. The Court’s opinion also addressed the issue of materiality under the False Claims Act. The “rigorous standard” expounded by the Court raised the standard of materiality beyond simple contractual or regulatory noncompliance. This heightened standard represents a significant departure from previous jurisprudence. Moreover, the heightened standard frustrates the repeatedly expressed will of Congress to empower qui tam whistleblowers to prosecute fraud perpetrated on the government. The primary focus of …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Are We In Good Hands? A Comparative Analysis Of Compensation Schemes Concerning Catastrophes And Their Administrative Structure, Yi Ming Zeng

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note critiques the administrative structure of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), highlighting its limitations in providing equitable and transparent compensation. It proposes integrating elements from Germany's and Japan's administrative systems to address these shortcomings and improve future disaster compensation schemes in the U.S.

In Memory Of Professor James E. Bond, Janet Ainsworth

Seattle University Law Review

Janet Ainsworth, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law: In Memory of Professor James E. Bond.

The Current Application Of The Myriad And Mayo/Alice Rulings On Patent Eligibility: Inconsistent Results And Contradistinguishing Biotechnology Products, Skye Cho

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

The note examines the inconsistent application of the patent eligibility framework under Section 101 of the Patent Act, particularly in biotechnology. It argues that despite efforts by the USPTO to clarify the framework through memos and examples, courts have applied it inconsistently, leading to discrimination against biotechnology products. The analysis focuses on key Supreme Court decisions, such as Myriad Genetics and Mayo, and their impact on the patent eligibility of biotechnological innovations. The note highlights the need for clearer guidance to ensure consistent outcomes and fair treatment of biotechnological inventions.

Say “No” To Discrimination, “Yes” To Accommodation: Why States Should Prohibit Discrimination Of Workers Who Use Cannabis For Medical Purposes, Anne Marie Lofaso, Lakyn D. Cecil

Seattle University Law Review

This Article addresses the question of how the law should treat medical cannabis in the employment context. Using Colorado as a primary example, we argue that states such as Colorado should amend their constitutions and legislate to provide employment protections for employees who are registered medical cannabis cardholders or registered caregivers.

Part I briefly traces the legal regulation of cannabis from an unregulated medicine known as cannabis to a highly regulated illicit substance known as marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. Our travail through this history reveals, unsurprisingly, an increasing demonization of cannabis throughout the twentieth century. That socio-legal demonization …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Medicare Problem: A Solution To Insolvency, Oscar Castro

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Disclosing Deviations: Using Guidelines To Nudge And Empower Physician-Patient Decision Making, Melissa Ballengee Alexander

Faculty Articles

Americans fail to receive recommended care roughly half the time, reflecting poor decision making that threatens their health. This Article offers an innovative solution: require physicians to disclose clinical practice guideline recommendations to patients during informed consent. Behavioral economics suggest that insisting physicians and patients discuss guidelines, before deviating from them, could be surprisingly effective at nudging more rational care choices. At the same time, such disclosure should also educate and empower patients, serving autonomy.

Previous scholarship on unwarranted variances in care has focused primarily on malpractice reforms, largely ignoring the role of cognitive bias and the importance of patients …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Billion Dollar Orphans: Tension Between The Legal Intent And Social Purpose Of The Orphan Drug Act, John Sheridan

Texas A&M Law Review

This Comment examines the extent to which Congress empowered the FDA to address the increase in petitions and the general accessibility of orphan drug remedies. Specifically, this Comment seeks to understand why the FDA’s interpretation of the purpose of the ODA seems to conflict with the statutory intent as interpreted by federal courts. This Comment considers a statute’s ultimate goal or social purpose to be the purpose of the statute, whereas the express mechanisms by which Congress seeks to bring about these goals is best understood as the statute’s intent. To understand the FDA and judiciary’s differing interpretations of the …

Understanding The Sexual Assault Kit Backlog In Pennsylvania, Kallie Crawford, Lyndsie Ferrara

Graduate Student Research Symposium

According to the FBI, to date, there are more than 400,000 untested sexual assault kits nationwide. While this is a huge issue that cannot be solved overnight, continual improvements and changes are needed to reduce and hopefully eliminate the backlog.

This research examines work going on nationwide and aims to better understand the backlog issues specifically in Pennsylvania. Furthermore, the research examines a program utilized by the law enforcement community that garnered necessary resources. First, a comprehensive review of improved practices in proactive jurisdictions of Ohio, Houston, Texas, and Detroit, Michigan was conducted to identify general policies and procedures that …

Utilizing Adr As A Vehicle For Effective Communication And Success Of Payment In Urgent Care, Stephanie R. Goldberg

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Section II of this Note provides background on urgent care and ADR. Section III will elaborate on current payment procedures and explain some of the pitfalls that create a need for a supplementary payment solution. Section IV lays out a four-step plan incorporating a logical progression of ADR techniques that would enable quality of care and ease and success of financial arrangements, and vastly improved patient-provider relations. The feasibility of this plan will be demonstrated through application of its steps to hypothetical examples, representative of various realistic patient experiences, in Section V. This plan is intended to aid the millions …

Access To Knowledge And The Global Abortion Policies Database, Joanna Erdman, Brooke Johnson

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Research shows that women, healthcare providers, and even policy makers worldwide have limited or inaccurate knowledge of the abortion law and policies in their country. These knowledge gaps sometimes stem from the vague and broad terms of the law, which breed uncertainty and even conflict when unaccompanied by accessible regulation or guidelines. Inconsistency across national law and policy further impedes safe and evidence‐based practice. This lack of transparency creates a crisis of accountability. Those seeking care cannot know their legal entitlements, service providers cannot practice with legal protection, and governments can escape legal responsibility for the adverse effects of their …

Interpreting Canada's Medical Assistance In Dying Legislation, Jocelyn Downie, Jennifer A. Chandler

Reports & Public Policy Documents

When the Canadian medical assistance in dying (MAiD) legislation came into force in June 2016, it was widely noted that the meaning of some of its key terms and phrases was unclear. For example, questions were immediately raised about the meaning of “incurable illness, disease, or disability,” “advanced state of irreversible decline in capability,” and “natural death has become reasonably foreseeable.” Interpretation challenges are not uncommon with new legislation. However, in the context of something as significant as access to MAiD and potential criminal liability for getting the meaning of the legislation wrong, these challenges must be confronted by those …

Termination Of Medical Treatment: Imminent Legislative Issues, Dennis J. Horan

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Termination Of Medical Treatment: Imminent Legislative Issues, Robert C. Robinson

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Confronting The Ghost: Legal Strategies To Oust Medical Ghostwriters, Deanna Minasi

Fordham Law Review

Articles published in medical journals contribute significantly to public health by disseminating medical information to physicians, thereby influencing prescribing practices. However, the information guiding treatment decisions becomes distorted by selective publishing and medical ghostwriting, which negatively affects overall patient care. Although there is general consensus in the medical community that these practices of publication bias represent a moral failing, the issue is rarely framed as a wrong that necessitates legal consequences. This Note takes the stance that medical ghostwriting constitutes an act prohibited under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and argues that physicians fraudulently named as authors …

Distinctive Factors Affecting The Legal Context Of End-Of-Life Medical Care For Older Persons, Marshall B. Kapp

Georgia State University Law Review

Current legal regulation of medical care for individuals approaching the end of life in the United States is predicated essentially on a factual model emanating from a series of high-profile judicial opinions concerning the rights of adults who become either permanently unconscious or are clearly going to die soon with or without aggressive attempts of curative therapy.

The need for a flexible, adaptable approach to medically treating people approaching the end of their lives, and a similar openness to possible modification of the legal framework within which treatment choices are made and implemented, are particularly important when older individuals are …

Religion In The Time Of Measles: Prescriptions For Minimizing The Public Health Threats Associated With Religious Exemptions From Mandatory Vaccinations, Victor Diego Gonzalez

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note examines the legal and public health tensions surrounding childhood vaccination mandates, emphasizing the balance between individual rights and societal interests. It argues that while states have the authority to compel vaccinations under their police powers, the proliferation of nonmedical exemptions, particularly philosophical ones, undermines herd immunity and public health. The analysis advocates for stricter criteria for religious exemptions and educational measures to address vaccine hesitancy, while cautioning against eliminating religious exemptions entirely to avoid public backlash.

Next Up: A Proposal For Values-Based Law Reform On Unilateral Withholding And Withdrawal Of Potentially Life-Sustaining Treatment, Jocelyn Downie, Lindy Willmott, Ben White

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

As the legalization of assisted dying shifts from a project for law reform to one of implementation, the gaze for Canadian end of life law and policy academics and practitioners should be turned quickly to another pressing issue – the unilateral withholding and withdrawal of potentially life-sustaining treatment. What should happen when the health care team believes that treatment should not be provided and the patient’s loved ones believe that it should? While the future of end of life law and policy no doubt includes many other issues, this is an urgent and immediate horizon issue for Canada as well …

A Test For Freedom Of Conscience Under The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms: Regulating And Litigating Conscientious Refusals In Health Care, Jocelyn Downie, Francoise Baylis

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Conscientious refusal to provide insured health care services is a significant point of controversy in Canada, especially in reproductive medicine and end-of-life care. Some provincial and territorial legislatures have developed legislation or regulations, and some professional regulatory bodies have developed policies or guidelines, to better reconcile tensions between health care professionals’ conscience and patients’ access to health care services. As other groups attempt to draft standards and as challenges to existing standards head to court, the fact that the meaning of “freedom of conscience” under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is not yet settled will become ever more …

Should Medical Assistance In Dying Be Extended To Incompetent Patients With Dementia? Research Protocol Of A Survey Among Four Groups Of Stakeholders From Quebec, Canada, Gina Bravo, Claudie Rodrigue, Vincent Thériault, Marcel Arcand, Jocelyn Downie, Marie-France Dubois, Sharon Kaasalainen, Cees M. Hertogh, Sophie Pautex, Lieve Van Den Block

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Background: Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders affect a growing number of people worldwide. Quality of life is generally good in the early stages of these diseases. However, many individuals fear living through the advanced stages. Such fears are triggering requests for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) by patients with dementia. Legislation was recently passed in Canada and the province of Quebec allowing MAiD at the explicit request of a patient who meets a set of eligibility criteria, including competence. Some commentators have argued that MAiD should be accessible to incompetent patients as well, provided appropriate safeguards are in place. Governments …

My Body, My Property, My Baby? The Extension Of Property Rights To Sexual Reproductive Cells And Embryos, Chanel Vegh

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

No abstract provided.

Permitting Voluntary Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide: Law Reform Pathways For Common Law Jurisdictions, Jocelyn Downie

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

End of life law and policy reform is the subject of much discussion around the world. This paper explores the pathways to permissive legal regimes that have been tried in various common law jurisdictions. These include legislation, prosecutorial charging guidelines, court challenges, jury nullification, the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in the absence of offence-specific charging guidelines, and the exercise of judicial discretion in sentencing. In this paper, I describe these pathways as taken (or attempted) in five common law jurisdictions (USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada) and reflect briefly on lessons that can be drawn from the recent experiences …

The Pharmaceutical Access And Prudent Purchasing Act Of 1990: Federal Law Shifts The Duty To Warn From The Physician To The Pharmacist, Michael J. Holleran R.Ph.

Akron Law Review

This article will first discuss the legislation recently enacted as part of the budget reduction package passed by Congress in late 1990 and how that legislation will affect pharmacists' liability. Second, the article will address the applicable statutes of limitation regarding pharmacists in particular and within the general area of malpractice. Third, the applicable standard of care will be explored as it pertains to pharmacists as well as physicians. Coupled with the standard of care discussion is an overview of the various theories of liability which physicians and pharmacists currently face and how these may change under the Act. Finally, …

The Increasing Weight Of Regulation: Countries Combat The Global Obesity Epidemic, Allyn L. Taylor, Emily Whelan Parento, Laura A. Schmidt

Indiana Law Journal

Obesity is a global epidemic, exacting an enormous human and economic toll. In the absence of a comprehensive global governance strategy, states have increasingly employed a wide array of legal strategies targeting the drivers of obesity. This Article identifies recent global trends in obesity-related legislation and makes the normative case for an updated global governance strategy.

National governments have responded to the epidemic both by strengthening traditional interventions and by developing novel legislative strategies. This response consists of nine important trends: (1) strengthened and tailored tax measures; (2) broadened use of counter-advertising and health campaigns; (3) expanded food labeling; (4) …

Copy And Paste: Transplanting International Hiv/Aids Model Laws Into African Countries, Maya Berinzon

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

There has been a recent increase in legislative and regulatory frameworks to govern HIV in Africa. This includes rules on when and how a health practitioner may disclose the HIV status of a patient to a spouse or sexual partner. In balancing the right to privacy against a doctor's duty of care, two international model laws have emerged, and have been wholly or partially copied by a number of African countries. This paper questions the usefulness of such model laws as legal transplants in national legislatures through an analysis of the regulations developed in thirty-eight African countries.