Filed Date: 1984
Closed Date: Oct. 18, 2002
Clearinghouse coding complete
In 1984, individuals with mental illness confined at the Vermont State Hospital (VSH) in Waterbury, Vermont, filed a class action lawsuit in the Superior Court for the State of Vermont for Washington County against Vermont's Commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation and various VSH officials. The plaintiffs, represented by Vermont Legal Aid, sought equitable relief for alleged violations of their Fourteenth Amendment Due Process rights. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that VSH subjected plaintiffs to involuntary, non-emergency medication.
On May 28, 1985, the parties entered into a consent decree, which the court approved. VSH agreed to implement policies and procedures to govern involuntary medication of patients. Under the new system, the interdisciplinary treatment team would recommend involuntary medication when such intervention would be in keeping with professional standards. Even then, patients could not be involuntarily medicated without a hearing at which they were entitled to representation.
In November 1990, the defendants asked the court to dissolve the consent decree, but the court (Judge Alan W. Cheever) refused. When the court denied the defendants' petition for rehearing, the defendants appealed. On May 28, 1992, the Supreme Court of Vermont (Justice Fredric Allen) affirmed, reasoning that the defendants had failed to show either (1) a significant and unforeseeable change of law, constitutional and statutory, or fact or (2) full achievement of the goals of the consent decree. J.L. v. Miller, 614 A.2d 808 (Vt. 1992).
In 1998, Vermont enacted legislation with the purpose of supplanting the 1985 consent decree.
The defendants subsequently asked the court to vacate the consent decree on the grounds that the law had materially changed. The trial court (Judge Mary Miles Teachout) refused to grant relief from judgment. On October 18, 2002, the Vermont Supreme Court (Justice James L. Morse) vacated the lower court's ruling and granted relief from the consent decree. J.L. v. Miller, 817 A.2d 1 (Vt. 2002). The court held that, despite the differences between the consent decree and the new legislation, clear legislative intent required the dissolution of the consent decree.
We have no information on subsequent litigation.
Summary Authors
Elizabeth Chilcoat (6/30/2006)
Allen, Frank Orlando (Vermont)
Appel, Robert (Vermont)
Avildsen, Eric (Vermont)
Amestoy, Jeffrey L. (Vermont)
Brown, Sean (Vermont)
Allen, Frank Orlando (Vermont)
Dimauro, Theresa S. (Vermont)
Dooley, John A. (Vermont)
Gibson, Ernest William Jr. (Vermont)
Morse, James L. (Vermont)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 2:27 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Vermont
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: 1984
Closing Date: Oct. 18, 2002
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Individuals with mental illness confined at the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, Vermont
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
V.T. Dept. of Developmental and Mental Health, State
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Mixed
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration: 1985 - 2002
Issues
General:
Informed consent/involuntary medication
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: