''Washington v. Harper'', 494 U.S. 210 (1990), was a United States Supreme Court case in which an incarcerated inmate sued the state of Washington over the issue of involuntary medication, specifically antipsychotic medication..

Background

Walter Harper, an inmate in the Washington prison system since 1976, was reported to be violent when not on antipsychotic medication. Twice he was transferred to the Special Offender Center (SOC), a state institution detaining prisoners who were diagnosed in psychiatric problems. While there, Harper was forced to take psychiatric medication against his will. The SOC followed its policies of institutional review for making a treatment decision to forcibly medicate an inmate. Upon hospitalizing Harper a second time at the center, Harper filed suit in state court under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that the Center failed to provide a judicial hearing before involuntarily medicating him, thus violating the

due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...

clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The trial court rejected his claim but the State Supreme Court reversed the decision and remanded the case back to the trial court stating that the State could administer antipsychotic medication to a competent, nonconsenting inmate only if, in a judicial hearing, at which the inmate had full adversarial procedural protections, the State could prove by "clear, cogent, and

94 U.S. 210, 211 94 may refer to: * 94 (number) * one of the years 94 BC, AD 94, 1994, 2094, etc. * Atomic number 94: plutonium * Saab 94 See also * * List of highways numbered A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: Peop ...

convincing" evidence that the forced medication was necessary and effective for furthering an important state interest, weighing the individual's interest against that of the state. The United States Supreme Court granted a Writ of Certiorari. The American Psychological Association submitted an amicus brief in support of the inmate's right to a due process hearing, stating forced medication of an incarcerated inmate violated the

, equal protection, and free speech clauses of the Constitution of the United States.

Opinion of the Court

The Court reversed, finding the use of an internal institutional review was adequate in making treatment decisions in this case under the lesser standard of review embodied in ''

Turner v. Safley ''Turner v. Safley'', 482 U.S. 78 (1987), was a U.S. Supreme Court decision involving the constitutionality of two Missouri prison regulations. One of the prisoners' claims related to the fundamental right to marry, and the other related to freedo ...

'', . The United States Supreme court ruled that the Due Process Clause permits a state to treat an incarcerated inmate having a serious mental disorder with antipsychotic medication against his will, under the condition that he is dangerous to himself or others and the medication prescribed is in his best medical interest.

References

External links

* *{{caselaw source , case=''Washington v. Harper'', {{Ussc, 494, 210, 1990, el=no , findlaw=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/494/210.html , justia=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/494/210/ , loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep494/usrep494210/usrep494210.pdf , oyez =https://www.oyez.org/cases/1989/88-599
Forced Medication of Legally Incompetent Prisoners: A Primer
United States civil due process case law Mental health law in the United States United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court 1990 in United States case law

Background

Opinion of the Court

See also

References

Further reading

External links