ipl-logo

Supreme Court Case Brief: Washington V. Glucksberg

726 Words3 Pages

1. Case Title and Citation ■ Washington v. Glucksberg 521 U.S. 702,117 S. Ct. 2258,117 S. Ct. 2302; 138 L. Ed. 2d 772 2. Procedural History The United States Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for any individuals to help another person to commit suicide. This ruling includes and is not limited to doctors. 3. Facts Washington State has a law on the books which states it is a crime to assist another person to attempt suicide. Dr Harold Glucksberg, a Washington physician, along with other Washington physicians brought suit against the State of Washington, alleging arguing Dr Glucksberg would frequently treat terminally-ill patients, and would have assisted those patients in ending their lives if not for the state’s ban on assisted suicide. Glucksberg brought suit in before …show more content…

The district court found that the Washington law violated both the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the court of appeals affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari. 4. Issue Three terminal ill patients and four doctors brought forth a case challenging Washington State’s position on assisted suicide. Was this an issue over Dr Glucksberg bringing suit in federal district court seeking a declaration that the Washington state law violated a liberty interest protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The case was heard by the United States Supreme Court. 5. Ruling and Reasoning Chief Justice Rehnquist was the judge who wrote the majority opinion for the court. He reversed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that a ban on physician-assisted suicide symbolized

Show More
Related
772 Words | 4 Pages

The trial court’s decision for the Bush v. Schiavo case was made in accordance with the procedures and protections that are set forth by the judicial branch in accordance with the statutes passed by the Legislature at that time. The Legislature is able to enact laws to protect those citizens who are incapable of protecting their own interests however such laws must comply with the constitution. In this case it is a violation of the separation of powers between the executive, judicial, and legislative branches. This Act that was passed is unconstitutional because Theresa Schiavo is in a permanent vegetative state and the decision that is being made needs to be in her best interest since she is unable to make the decision for herself. The decision that was made was final and it was unconstitutional for the Legislature to attempt to alter the final decision that applied to Theresa

Read More
556 Words | 3 Pages

In Marbury v. Madison (1803) it was announced by the Supreme Court for the very first time, that if an act was deemed inconsistent with the constitution then the court was allowed to declare the act void. Thomas Jefferson’s secretary of state, James Madison, denied William Marbury of his commission. President John Adams appointed William Marbury the justice of peace for the District of Columbia during his last day in office. Madison denied Marbury of this commission because he believed that because it was not issued before the termination of Adams presidency, that it was invalid. Marbury himself started a petition, along with three others who were in a similar situation.

Read More
584 Words | 3 Pages

Before 1948 Julius A. Wolf had been arrested and tried for reasons not stated in the Supreme Court case, but the evidence that was used against Wolf was taken unlawfully, the police had no warrant for his arrest as well as no warrant to search his office. Wolf was able to get an appeal to be tried one more time. In 1948 the trial Wolf v Colorado Supreme Court had begun. It was a very controversial topic because the case was based on the violation of the Fourth Amendment right of protection from search and seizures.

Read More
1872 Words | 8 Pages

56. Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989): The Court upheld Missouri restrictions on abortions that “public employees and public facilities were not to be used in performing or assisting abortions unnecessary to save the mother 's life; encouragement and counseling to have abortions was prohibited; and physicians were to perform viability tests upon women in their twentieth (or more) week of pregnancy.” It was a fractured decision that seemed to contradict Roe v. Wade but the court decided to not revisit any parts of Roe v. Wade after this case. The Missouri restrictions did not violate the right to privacy or the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Read More
375 Words | 2 Pages

In that case, the Supreme Court held that prison staff (whether doctors or officers or any others) violated the Eighth Amendment if they were deliberately indifferent to the serious medical needs of prisoners.

Read More
774 Words | 4 Pages

The Supreme Court Case Gonzales vs. Oregon, argued on October 5, 2005, deals with an act that Oregon enacted, the “Death With Dignity Act.” Under this act, physicians had the power to prescribe fatal doses of controlled substances to patients who were terminally ill —meaning that suicide assisted by a doctor was now legal in Oregon. Attorney General John Ashcroft, in 2001, asked that law enforcement prosecute doctors who prescribed these lethal doses of controlled substances by issuing a ruling called the “Ashcroft Directive.” The Ashcroft Directive stated that under the Controlled Substances Act, suicide under a physician was not an actual “medical purpose,” and therefore, illegal. The General Attorney proceeding Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales,

Read More
1554 Words | 7 Pages

This poll also found that 56 percent of Americans believe that physician assisted suicide is a morally acceptable act regardless of its legality, and only 37 percent believe it is morally wrong. Additionally, 62 percent of adults agree that a person has a moral right to suicide” (Ralph A Capone). Other states including Oregon, that have passed death-with-dignity laws include Vermont, California, Colorado and Washington. There is a death with dignity bill that is slated to go before the Maine Legislature in support of physician assisted suicide.

Read More
1137 Words | 5 Pages

• Death with Dignity Act - Oregon Health Authority states that, “ Oregon passed a law that allows terminally ill residents to end their lives through voluntary assisted suicide of lethal medication, directly prescribed by a physician.” - To be granted the ability for assisted suicide, the individual has to be suffering from a terminal disease and have a doctor that has confirmed that they only have 6 months or less left to live. - The Death with Dignity National Center says that, “By adding a voluntary option to the continuum of end-of-life care, these laws give patients dignity, control, and peace of mind during their final days with family and loved ones.” • Examples of some of the terminal illnesses that should be allowed for assisted

Read More
852 Words | 4 Pages

Physician assisted suicide should not be considered murder in the United States because it is

Read More
1228 Words | 5 Pages

Physician assisted suicide has been an intensely debated problem for years but if used properly, could be an effective way to help those who are suffering at the end of their life. Countless people have been advocating for physician assisted suicide for years and the most famous advocate for assisted suicide was Dr. Jack Kevorkian. He was a pathologist but received the nickname Dr. Death after it was estimated that between 1990 and 1999 he assisted 130 terminally ill individuals in their assisted suicides (“Jack Kevorkian”). Dr. Kevorkian is considered a crusader for physician

Read More
537 Words | 3 Pages

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right. ”(Martin Luther King, Jr.) Most people were racist but now since the civil rights have been established most have stopped being racist and moved on. Three supreme court case decisions influenced the civil rights movements by letting more and more poeple know what the Supreme Court was doing to African Americans,and of the unfair him crow laws:(Dred Scott v. Sanford,Plessy v. Ferguson,Brown v. Board of Education). Dred Scott v. Sanford Is a case that most people felt that Dred Scott had an unfair charge against him.

Read More
1252 Words | 6 Pages

Assisted suicide is a rather controversial issue in contemporary society. When a terminally ill patient formally requests to be euthanized by a board certified physician, an ethical dilemma arises. Can someone ethically end the life of another human being, even if the patient will die in less than six months? Unlike traditional suicide, euthanasia included multiple individuals including the patient, doctor, and witnesses, where each party involved has a set of legal responsibilities. In order to understand this quandary and eventually reach a conclusion, each party involved must have their responsibilities analyzed and the underlying guidelines of moral ethics must be investigated.

Read More
737 Words | 3 Pages

It would be nice to be able to choose where we die, how we die, and why we die. Now we can with assisted suicide, but not all agree on the terms that come with this subject. Many agree that aid-in-dying should be available to those suffering from a terminal illness, but is this process of assisted suicide constitutional? Aid-in-Dying should not be practiced in hospitals because it has a negative effect on others and their families. Aid-in-dying should not be practiced in hospitals because it is unconstitutional.

Read More
1838 Words | 8 Pages

In a close victory, fifty-one percent of the voters voted yes and forty-nine percent opposed the Death with Dignity Act. However, the law was delayed for several years due to an injunction by District Judge Hogan who had ruled that the Oregon Death with Dignity Act violated the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection clause (Legal). The ruling was immediately appealed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and in 1996 the ban was ruled unconstitutional by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In two related cases at that time, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that assisted suicide was not a Constitutional right, but also that the issue would be best addressed in the “laboratory of the states” which are free to prohibit or legalize physician assisted dying. In 1997, the Oregon Legislative Assembly put Measure 51 on the ballot in an effort to repeal the Death with Dignity Act.

Read More
522 Words | 3 Pages

The Right to Die 1) Introduction a) Thesis statement: Physician assisted suicide offers patients a choice of getting out of their pain and misery, presents a way to help those who are already dead mentally because of how much a disease has taken over them, proves to be a great option in many states its legal in, and puts the family at ease knowing their love one is out of pain. i) The use of physician assisted death is used in many different countries and some states. ii) Many people who chose this option are fighting a terminal illness.

Read More

More about Supreme Court Case Brief: Washington V. Glucksberg

Open Document