Dr. John Smialek, State Medical Investigator v. Ruth Y. Begay, Minnie Conn, Harry K. Harrison, Rex Harrison and David Yazzie
New Mexico Supreme Court
721 P.2d 1306 (1986)
- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
Hanagoni Bitsie, the mother and next of kin of an individual who died and on whom an autopsy was performed, sued Dr. John Smialek (defendant), the medical investigator for New Mexico, seeking damages for a wrongful autopsy. Bitsie alleged that the autopsy violated her and her child’s constitutional right to free exercise of the Navajo religion, which prohibited autopsies. Siblings of the deceased, Ruth Y. Begay, Minni Conn, Harry K. Harrison, Rex Harrison, and David Yazzie (siblings) (plaintiffs) sought to join the suit. The trial court dismissed the siblings from the case, holding that they had no standing to sue on their sibling’s behalf. The court of appeals reversed, and Smialek appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Walters, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 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.
