In the case of
Rennie v. Klein
(1981), a psychiatric patient who had been hospitalized in a state institution
had been administered antipsychotic drugs against his will on multiple occasions (Lexis, 1981). As a
result, he ended up filing a class action suit. Since he was given the drugs under nonemergency
circumstances, the act was a direct violation of his rights. The court determined “that such a right could
be overridden if the patient posed a danger to himself or others. In nonemergency situations, procedural
due process had to be provided” (Lexis, 1981). The case ruling is still impacting the legal system and how
forensic psychologists evaluate clients. The ruling allows patients to have the right to refuse medication
during in-patient care, which happens all the time. The downfall of this ruling is that many of these
patients are clearly not in the right state of mind leading them to refuse the medication that is needed
that can result to many negative outcomes. I see this all the time at the hospital, refusal of medication
leads to violent outbursts the majority of the time.
Sources:
Klein, A., & Rennie, J. (1981).
In The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
. Rogovin Stern
and Huge.
https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Directories/Library-and-
Archive/amicus-briefs/Rennie-v-Klein-No-79-2576-79-2577.pdf
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