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Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 22, 1983
Reargued October 3, 1983
Decided January 23, 1984
Full case namePennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman
Docket no.81-2101
Citations465 U.S. 89 (more)
104 S. Ct. 900; 79 L. Ed. 2d 67
ArgumentOral argument
ReargumentReargument
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
Lewis F. Powell Jr. · William Rehnquist
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Case opinions
MajorityPowell, joined by Burger, White, Rehnquist, O'Connor
DissentStevens, joined by Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun
DissentBrennan
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XI; Developmentally Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1975

Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89 (1984), was a United States Supreme Court decision holding that the Eleventh Amendment prohibits a federal court from ordering state officials to obey state law.[1]

Background

The lawsuit was a federal class action,[2] asserting that those with developmental disabilities in the care of the state have a constitutional right to appropriate care and education.[3] Terri Lee Halderman had been a resident of Pennhurst State School and Hospital, and following multiple episodes of abuse, she and her family filed suit in the federal district court. The suit started after Halderman had visited her parents at home and was found to have unexplained bruises. Although the case was not expected to reach the level it did, the courts later found that conditions at Pennhurst were unsanitary, inhumane and dangerous, violating the Fourteenth Amendment, and that Pennhurst used cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as the Pennsylvania Mental Health and Retardation Act of 1966 (MH/MR).[4] The District Court ruled that certain of the patients' rights had been violated. The District Court decision was the first time that any federal court ruled that an institution must be closed based on a constitutional right to community services.[5][6]

A panel discussion: five people sitting at a long table facing an audience out of frame and the moderator, Janet Albert-Herman, standing at a podium. The room is slightly dark and woody. A screen with captioning is behind the panel.
Panel discussion, "The Disability Rights Movement: From Pennhurst Until Today", U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Washington, D.C., 27 June 2016. Left to right: James W. Conroy, principal investigator on the Pennhurst Longitudinal Study and co-president of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance; Nancy Thaler, Deputy Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services; Peter Berns, chief executive officer, the Arc of the United States; Jean Searle, member of the Pennhurst class and co-president of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance; Thomas Gilhool, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and lead plaintiff's attorney in Penshurst v. Halderman; Janet Albert-Herman, a board member of the Arc of Pennsylvania and Treasurer of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.

References

  1. ^ Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89 (1984).
  2. ^ Halderman v. Pennhurst State School & Hospital, 446 F. Supp. 1295 (E.D. Pa. 1978).
  3. ^ U.S. District Court, e.D., Pennsylvania. (1977). "Halderman v. Pennhurst State School and Hospital. 23 Dec 1977". Federal Supplement. 446: 1295–329. PMID 11646079.
  4. ^ "Pennsylvania Mental Health and Retardation Act of 1966" (PDF). Temple University. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  5. ^ Scott, P.M.; Ferleger, D. (1983). "Rights and dignity: Congress, the Supreme Court, and people with disabilities after Pennhurst". Western New England Law Review. 5 (3): 327–61. PMID 11658602.
  6. ^ Anti-Institutionalization and the Supreme Court, 14 Rutgers L.Rev. 595 (1983).

Bibliography

Court documents
Law journal analyses
Journalism
Other sources

External links


United States Eleventh Amendment case law
Categories