This website requires JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings, or use a different web browser like Google Chrome or Safari.

Options

From our private database of 35,800+ case briefs...

Thomas S., by His Next Friend, Joyce Brooks v. Sarah Morrow

United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

601 F. Supp. 1055 (1984)

Facts

On July 7, 1982, Thomas S. (plaintiff), with the assistance of Joyce Brooks, filed for declaratory and injunctive relief against Sarah Morrow (defendant), secretary of the Department of Human Resources for North Carolina (the department), for failure to provide him with appropriate treatment. Thomas had been declared legally incompetent when he reached the age of majority, and due to his diagnosis of schizophrenia and developmental delays was institutionalized in the mental retardation unit at Broughton Hospital. Prior to this placement, Thomas had been repeatedly moved close to 40 times during his minority, because no treatment facilities were available. The recommended treatment for Thomas included permanent placement with functioning adults in a noninstitutionalized setting where he would be provided with educational and job training, as well as therapy. The parties came to an agreement for Thomas’s placement on May 26, 1983, and the court deferred ruling on motions for summary judgment. As of February 1, 1984, Thomas was no longer in the agreed-to community placement and had been moved to a detox facility, evidencing a lack of compliance with the agreement.

Rule of Law

The rule of law is the black letter law upon which the court rested its decision. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Issue

The issue section includes the dispositive legal issue in the case phrased as a question. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Holding and Reasoning (McMillan, J.)

The holding and reasoning section includes:

A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

What to do next…

Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.
You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 620,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.
Unlock this case brief Read our student testimonials
Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.
Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.
Learn about our approach Read more about Quimbee

Here's why 620,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 35,800 briefs, keyed to 984 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Here's why 620,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
35,800 briefs - keyed to 984 casebooks
Uniform format for every case brief
Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
Top-notch customer support