O'Connor v. Donaldson - Significance, Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, Further Readings

court william petitioner rights

Petitioner

Kenneth Donaldson

Respondent

Dr. J. B. O'Connor

Petitioner's Claim

That O'Connor, as the representative of the Florida State Hospital at Chattahoochee, had violated Donaldson's constitutional rights by keeping him in custody against his will for nearly 15 years for his supposed mental illness.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Raymond W. Gearney

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Bruce J. Ennis, Jr.

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Burger, William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, Potter Stewart (writing for the Court), Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

None

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

26 June 1975

Decision

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Donaldson possessed certain constitutional rights, and that he could gather damages from individuals who had taken away his rights.

Related Cases

Minnesota ex rel Pearson v. Probate Court, 309 U.S. 270 (1940).
Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U.S. 479 (1960).
In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967).
Cohen v. Caligornia, 403 U.S. 15 (1971).
McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, 403 U.S. 528 (1971).

Sources

Department of Education. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, http://www.civilrights.com/idea.html, www.edweek.org/context/glossary/idea.htm.

Additional Topics

O'Connor v. Donaldson - Significance

That mentally ill persons have constitutional rights. During the turbulent decades of the 1960s and 1970s many minority groups began to fight for their rights. African Americans worked to gain basic civil rights, including the right to vote, order a hamburger at a segregated lunch counter, and sit in the front of a crowded bus. Women tried to achieve equal pay for equal work, universal day care, a…

O'Connor v. Donaldson - Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

In 1975 an important law was passed guaranteeing "free, appropriate public education" to children with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities--from birth to age 21, or high school graduation. According to the Department of Education, approximately 5.8 million children in the United States were disabled. Federal funds are provided to public schools who agree to provide "appropriate" instructio…

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User Comments

5 months ago

M. Zabezensky, Ph. D.

Does a civilized society not have the authority to protect its members from potential threats to its members by intervening and confining dangerous members in human warehouses?

The American Constitution is not a suicide pact, but a social compact.