Department of Human Services v. Northern
Tennessee Court of Appeals
563 S.W.2d 197 (1978)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
Mary Northern (defendant) was in her early 70s and generally acted mentally aware and sane. Northern had severe gangrene in both feet that had turned her feet black. Northern’s doctor believed she would die from complications unless she had both feet amputated, but Northern refused to believe that she had gangrene. Northern claimed that her feet were black because they were dirty or covered in soot and that any problems with them would resolve without surgery. Accordingly, Northern refused to consent to the amputation surgery. One doctor found that Northern’s beliefs about her feet were so out of touch with reality that they rose to the level of psychosis. A court was then asked to determine whether Northern was competent to make her own decision to refuse the amputation surgery.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Todd, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 830,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
