State v. Miller
Iowa Supreme Court
542 N.W.2d 241 (1995)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
Although Albert Miller (defendant) was not licensed to practice medicine, he routinely treated people in his home for a variety of physical issues. Miller typically started by putting the person’s photograph or hair clipping into a machine and reading the results. Miller might then give the person mild electric shocks, a massage, or a type of magnet therapy. Miller also routinely suggested vitamins to help the person’s condition. Miller did not call himself a doctor, and he did not charge for his treatments. However, Miller did sometimes sell the vitamins, and he often accepted a donation of $10 per treatment. Miller was charged with practicing medicine without a license. At Miller’s trial, an expert testified that Miller’s treatments were mostly useless but did harm by causing the people who relied on them to delay seeking real medical treatment. A jury found Miller guilty of seven counts of practicing medicine without a license. Miller was sentenced to jail time, but the time was suspended while he served five years of probation. Miller appealed the verdict, and the case went before the Iowa Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Andreasen, 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.
