Curriculum

COURSES AND SEMINARS
Aging and the Law
Bioethics and the Law
Employee Pension and Welfare Benefits 
Food and Drug Law
Genetics and the Law 
Germs, Guns and Lead: Public Health Law and Policy 
Health Care Law
Health Care Structure and Financing
Health Law and Policy
Human Experimentation: Law and Ethics of Research in Biomedicine and Public Health
Law and Ethics in Medical Practice
Law of Health Care Organization and Finance
Legal Careers and Life Satisfaction
Medical Care for Children
Medical Malpractice and Health Care Quality
Mental Health, Juvenile Justice and Family Law
Mental Health Law
New Frontiers in Law and Psychiatry
Psychiatry and Criminal Law 
Public Health Law and Chronic Disease
Themes in Biomedicine
Tobacco Policy

Clinics
Advocacy Clinic for the Elderly
Mental Health Law Clinic

 
ADVOCACY CLINIC FOR THE ELDERLY (Yearlong Seminar) Ms. Curry/Ms. Hamp (5 credits) This clinic trains students to provide legal services to older persons. Under the supervision of an attorney, students represent elderly clients in negotiations on a variety of legal matters, including administrative hearings, and court proceedings, including basic wills and powers of attorney, guardianships, consumer issues, Medicaid and Medicare benefits, nursing home regulation and quality of long-term care, elder abuse and neglect, and advance medical directives. Students develop practical skills by participating in client interviewing, counseling, and trial advocacy. Students may engage in policy analysis and advocacy work with partnering organizations including the Jefferson Area Board for Aging, the Legal Aid Justice Center, the Virginia Elder Rights Coalition, and the Senior Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association.

Bioethics and the Law Mr. Hafemeister This course explores the intersection among medicine, technology, and the law. Topics include human reproduction and birth (including actions for wrongful birth, wrongful life, and wrongful conception), human genetics and the privacy and ownership of genetic information, death and dying, research involving human subjects, organ transplantation, and public health and bioterrorism.

COMPARATIVE HEALTH LAW Dr. Siegal (1) This short course explores debates in health law and bioethics from an international perspective, addressing current globalization developments. The course includes comparative analysis of national legislation (e.g. U.K. vs. EU countries vs. the U.S.) and case law, and international treaties and conventions, where overcoming prevailing diversity in national law plays an essential role. Topics include: patients’ rights (e.g. right to health, informed consent, confidentiality, end-of-life decisions), organ transplantation, genetics, stem cells research and cloning, medical malpractice and error prevention, and telemedicine (computers, the Internet and medicine: licensure, consent, negligence and confidentiality). All issues addressed illuminate the medical as well as ethical and legal aspects.

DEVELOPMENT AND REGULATION OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY Mr. Merrill (1) Lectures are held in the Medical School and cover the system within which new medicines and medical devices are developed, tested, approved, and marketed under FDA regulation.

Employee Pensions and Welfare Benefits Mr. Doran This course examines the federal laws governing retirement, health, and other welfare benefits provided through the employment relationship. The class considers several aspects of employee benefits law, but places primary emphasis on the regulation of retirement plans (such as traditional pensions and 401(k) plans) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Topics include substantive employee rights and obligations; standards of conduct for trustees, investment managers, and other fiduciaries; administrative and judicial enforcement procedures; public policy on retirement security; and the economic incentives and disincentives for employers to maintain tax-qualified retirement plans.

FOOD AND DRUG LAW Ms. Magill or Mr. Merrill This course considers the Food and Drug Administration as a case study of an administrative agency that must combine law and science to regulate activities affecting public health and safety. The class covers issues such as regulation of cancer-causing substances in foods, the use of risk-assessment techniques in regulatory decision-making, the effects of FDA drug approval requirements on research and competition in the pharmaceutical industry, regulation of new medical technologies, and the ethics of drug testing.

GENES AND JUSTICE Mr. Rothstein (1) This short course covers selected issues in genetics, with a topical emphasis on genetic research and development, and an overall focus on notions of equality and equity in the burdens and benefits of the new technologies. Topics include the new paradigm of research ethics; pharmacogenomics as a case study in legal regulation of the diffusion of genetic technology; patent law and other intellectual property issues in genetics; DNA-based identity testing and its effects on family law and criminal law; and genetic privacy, confidentiality, and discrimination.

GENETICS AND THE LAW Mr. Lombardo or Mr. Siegal This class explores legal issues that arise with new genetic technologies. We review the history of genetic research in the United States , with particular attention to the incorporation of hereditarian and eugenic concepts into the law, as well as the state and federal cases in which those concepts were challenged. The semester surveys genetic privacy and access to genetic information; the forensic use of genetic information; reproductive issues, including monitoring of genetic diseases and novel techniques of reproduction such as cloning; alteration and ownership of biologic forms; and genetic risks in the context of employment and insurance.

GERMS, GUNS AND LEAD: PUBLIC HEALTH Law and Policy Mr. Bonnie/Ms. Gaare Bernheim/Mr. Childress This course explores the legitimacy, design and implementation of a variety of policies aiming to promote the public health and reduce the social burden of disease and injury. It highlights the challenge posed by public health’s population-based perspective to traditional individual-centered, autonomy-driven approaches to bioethics and constitutional law. Other themes center on conflicts between public health and public morality and the relationship between public health and social justice. Illustrative topics include mandatory immunization, screening and reporting of infectious diseases, prevention of lead poisoning, food safety, prevention of firearm injuries, airbags and seat belts, mandatory drug testing, syringe exchange programs, tobacco regulation, and restrictions on alcohol and tobacco advertising.

GERMS AND JUSTICE: INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND THE LAW Ms. Foster Riley or Mr. Hafemeister This course examines the legal issues involved with infectious diseases. It begins with a historical overview of how infectious disease affects law and vice versa, and early treatment and prevention methods. It next covers current issues such as vaccine research and development, community quarantines, notification requirements, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, new pending legislation, and the various interest groups concerned with that legislation. The course also takes on international issues such as access to treatment and medicine, how international agreements affect access, as well as ethical issues involving research in infectious disease with international populations. Finally, the class delves into issues of bioterrorism and how it affects overall legal concerns with infectious diseases.

GREAT CASES IN BIOETHICS Mr. Lombardo This seminar explores top cases in the history of bioethics. Among the topics that are surveyed are: informed consent; the “right to die”; refusal of medical treatment on religious grounds; sexual sterilization, birth control, and abortion; medical confidentiality; assisted suicide and euthanasia; disabled infants and medical futility; genetic technology; and end of life decisions by surrogates.

HEALTH CARE LAW Mr. Malani or Mr. Leslie This course surveys the law applicable to health care delivery in the United States. Topics include: treating patients, industry structure, antitrust regulation, health insurance, organ transplantation, Medicare, Medicaid, and more.

HEALTH CARE STRUCTURE AND FINANCING Dr.Massaro This course provides an overview of the structure and financing of the American health care system. It will provide a broad overview of American law and regulation as it applies to these areas. Major topics include: access to and cost of health care in the U.S., health insurance and managed care, Medicare and Medicaid, the relationship amongst health care professionals and organizations, enforcement and compliance activities of the government, and the impact of liability on the health care system. It is intended that this one-credit course be a high level overview of the American health care system and the laws and regulations that shape it.

HEALTH LAW AND POLICY Dr. Massaro This course introduces the policy environment that defines the delivery of health care and the practice of medicine in the United States today. It presents legal and medical perspectives on topics such as health system structure and financing, technology innovation, the public health agenda, professional licensure and credentialing, and end-of-life issues. Emerging concerns regarding research on human subjects are discussed and a brief review of physician, hospital and insurer liability is presented. Health reform proposals, especially patient-focused and consumer-oriented initiatives, are evaluated and discussed.

LAW AND ETHICS IN Medical Practice Mr. Bonnie/Dr. Larriviere This interdisciplinary seminar addresses legal and ethical issues arising in the practice of medicine. During the first meetings of the seminar, the instructors orient the law students to the practice of medicine at the University, and to basic medical concepts pertinent to seminar topics. The following meetings bring together residents, fellows and faculty from the various departments at the Medical School, including Neurology, Medicine, and Family Practice, to explore such issues as informed consent and capacity to consent to or refuse treatment (including life-sustaining treatment), ethical and legal challenges arising in managed care, prevention and acknowledgment of medical errors, the purpose and role of evidenced-based medicine in contemporary medical practice, regulation of research, and end-of-life issues such as the definition and implications of persistent vegetative state and the definition of death. Efforts are also made to identify areas of divergence and convergence in professional norms in law and medicine. (Also offered as Law and Ethics in Neurology)

Legal Careers and Life Satisfaction Mr. Kraus/Mr. Monahan This seminar explores the relationships between careers in law and life satisfaction. The large body of psychological research on the determinants of “happiness” that has emerged in the past decade will form the foundation of the seminar. From there, the course examines the empirical literature on attorneys’ job satisfaction and their reactions to job dissatisfaction (e.g., depression, alcoholism). The seminar aims to identify factors that promote or attenuate job satisfaction in particular, and life satisfaction more generally, among attorneys practicing law in various settings (e.g., large firm, small firm, in-house counsel, public interest). This is a research, rather than a clinical, seminar.

MEDICAL CARE FOR CHILDREN: LAW, ECONOMICS, AND HEALTH POLICY Dr. Massaro and Mr. Wadlington (1) The short course includes students from both the medical and the law schools. It focuses on the framework for providing health care to children. Specific issues include the parental duty to support and provide medical care, medical neglect, child abuse, decision making by and for minors about their medical care, fetal alcohol syndrome, crack babies, the terminally ill child, the Virginia and Florida Neurologically Defective Infants Acts, public health laws such as vaccination and quarantine, and adoption of children with special medical needs.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AND HEALTH CARE QUALITY Mr. Hafemeister Medical malpractice litigation in this country is alternatively characterized as in crisis and the bane of conscientious health care providers or as an invaluable means to enhance the quality of health care and compensate individuals who received inadequate care. This course examines the regulation of health care quality in the United States through medical malpractice liability (including professional, institutional, and managed care liability), professional licensure, obligations flowing from the professional-patient relationship, and external and internal regulation of health care facilities (including accreditation, staff privileges, and peer review).

MENTAL HEALTH, JUVENILE JUSTICE AND FAMILY LAW This interdisciplinary seminar, offered by faculty of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, examines the role of mental disorders and mental health professionals in juvenile justice and family law. Students include graduate students in psychology as well as law students. In addition to traditional seminar class sessions, the course includes the observation of live and videotaped forensic mental health evaluations conducted through the institute. Seminar sessions explore issues in juvenile forensic mental health (e.g., adjudicative competency, criminal responsibility, waiver to adult courts, juvenile sexual offending, school violence, and the prevalence of mental illness within juvenile justice system) and family law (e.g., child custody, termination of parental rights, child sexual abuse).

MENTAL HEALTH LAW Mr. Hafemeister Students address legal issues that pertain to the treatment of individuals with mental illness or mental retardation. The course explores the delivery of mental health services, the regulation of the mental health professions, and the relationship between society and people with mental disability. The course’s interdisciplinary approach includes periodic guest lecturers from the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, social work, and social services, as well as presentations by relevant legal practitioners. Students are encouraged but not required to enroll in the Mental Health Law Clinic where they have an opportunity to apply the substantive law they learn in this class to cases they are handling. Likely topics include: the nature of psychiatric diagnoses and mental disorders; the right to treatment and community services; professional liability for malpractice; civil commitment; relationships between criminal and civil justice systems; benefits eligibility; protection against discrimination; and client competence and surrogate decision-making for incompetent clients.

MENTAL HEALTH LAW CLINIC (Yearlong Seminar) Mr. Gulotta (5) This course is offered in conjunction with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Legal Aid Society. Students represent mentally ill or mentally disabled clients in negotiations, administrative hearings, and court proceedings (to the extent permitted by law) on a variety of legal matters, including: social security, medicaid, and disability benefits claims, disability discrimination claims, access to housing, advance directives for medical care, and access to mental health or rehabilitative services. Under the supervision of an attorney, students directly perform all of the lawyer functions associated with their cases, including client and witness interviews, factual development, legal research, preparation of pleadings, negotiation and courtroom advocacy.

ORGAN DONATION: ALTRUISM OR RECIPROCITY? Mr. Bonnie (1) This short course addresses the growing gap between the need for kidneys, livers, and other organs for transplantation and the supply of available organs. Topics include the moral basis of organ donation, reasons for the low rate of donation, the current legal structure of organ procurement, and possible policy solutions. The course will be coordinated with the work of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Increasing the Rate of Organ Donation on which the instructor is serving.

QUANTITATIVE METHODS Mr. Fischman Lawyers in a wide variety of practice areas are increasingly called upon to apply quantitative tools to frame arguments and advise clients. This course provides an introduction to quantitative methods from microeconomics, decision theory, game theory and statistics and discusses how these concepts can be applied in legal contexts. Applications include litigation, settlement, environmental law, corporate law, employment law and antitrust.

PSYCHIATRY, CRIMINAL LAW, AND ADULT OFFENDERS Mr. Hafemeister This interdisciplinary seminar examines how the criminal justice system addresses defendants and adult offenders with a mental disorder. Contemporary issues in forensic mental health are explored, including: adjudicative competency (e.g., competence to stand trial, competence to waive rights); criminal responsibility (e.g., the insanity defense, diminished capacity); capital cases; sex offenders; mental health expert testimony; and mental disorders and violence. Guest lectures are provided by mental health professionals and legal practitioners. In addition to traditional seminar class sessions, the course includes the observation of live and videotaped forensic mental health evaluations conducted by the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy. All students are required to observe a forensic evaluation and to report on the evaluation to the class.

PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, AND JUVENILE OFFENDERS Mr. Hafemeister This interdisciplinary seminar examines how the criminal and juvenile justice systems deal with mental disorders and developmental issues in juvenile offenders. The course draws on the expertise and experiences of mental health professionals and lawyers. In addition to traditional seminar class sessions, the course includes the observation of live and videotaped forensic mental health evaluations conducted by the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy. Seminar sessions explore issues in juvenile forensic mental health, including: adjudicative competency (e.g., competence to stand trial, competence to confess, competence to waive rights); criminal responsibility (e.g., the insanity defense, diminished capacity); transfers of juvenile offenders from juvenile to adult courts; dispositions of adjudicated juvenile offenders; juvenile sex offenders; mental disorders and juvenile violence; bullying and zero tolerance policies in schools; and mental health expert testimony.

PUBLIC HEALTH LAW AND CHRONIC DISEASE Ms. Riley Traditional public health law has its roots and focus on infectious disease, but this is changing, as chronic diseases now account for seven out of 10 deaths in the United States. Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), cancer, and diabetes—are among the most prevalent, costly, and preventable of all health problems. This seminar explores how law can be used as a method to prevent and control chronic disease. Students examine the legal frameworks that have developed to work with public health systems and consider structural changes that could be made to those frameworks to deal better with chronic disease. Specific issues include: prevention of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, asthma, obesity, cancer, or complications of diabetes—and health promotion, such as reducing tobacco use, increasing physical activity, and improving nutrition.

Tobacco Policy in the United States Mr. Bonnie (1) This course explores the unsolved puzzles of tobacco regulation. Used by 46 million people in the United States, tobacco is regarded as the underlying cause of more than 400,000 deaths every year. Although the prevalence of smoking has declined steadily since 1965, the initiation rate among teenagers remains stubbornly high (around 25 percent) and adult prevalence also seems to be flattening. Class sessions focus on several key issues in the ongoing debate about tobacco regulation, including the proper scope of smoking restrictions, the constitutionality of restrictions on advertising and marketing of tobacco products, and the most sensible approach to regulating tobacco products, especially those that purport to be “safer” than ordinary tobacco products. Although tobacco control is a worldwide problem, the class focuses on U.S. tobacco policy, and will be grounded in a National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine study chaired by Professor Bonnie. That report is currently scheduled for public release in the fall of 2006.

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