NCJ Number
131676
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 81 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1991) Pages: 952-980
Date Published
1991
Length
29 pages
Annotation
The US Supreme Court, in Washington v. Harper, reversed a Washington State Supreme Court decision that required a judicial hearing before allowing a correctional institution to administer antipsychotic drugs to an inmate involuntarily. The Court held that the Washington State regulation amply provided for inmates' liberty interest while also protecting legitimate State interests; the regulation also provided adequate procedural protections guaranteed under the fourteenth amendment's due process clause.
Abstract
The author concludes that the Court's decision was influenced by its definition of the liberty interest as "significant" rather than "fundamental." However, under some circumstances a State's interests may outweigh an individual's liberty interest. In this case, the State argued that its administrative and security concerns were inseparable from its obligation to provide medical treatment to its inmates. Nevertheless, the author maintains that, rather than being a logical response to the State's asserted interests, the regulation was instead an exaggerated answer to penological concerns. She argues that formal commitment proceedings are the best way to protect inmate interests. 179 notes