Is Forced Catheterization “Rape”?
Don’t expect me to keep my opinion to myself. I am not an attorney. Just a lowly law student. But here is my take.
Forced catheterization is not rape. It is battery.
Does it make a difference that the patient voluntarily took cannabinoids, methamphetamine, amphetamine, and benzodiazepines? He might not be able to make rational decisions on his own. But in Arkansas, doctors (or their attorneys) are still required to petition a court for permission to override patient autonomy on purely physical treatment. A 72-hour psych hold gives the medical provider 72 hours to do as they please – assuming there is not blatant malice. But Mr. Hurst was not held for more than a few hours after what he claimed was a forced catheterization.
Hurst made a few errors that the defense and court seized upon. He called his claim a 42 USC 1983 claim. Those are only claims against government actors.
There is no indication that Hurst made a request for the production of the surveillance videos taken in the ER. If Mercy did not have a shredder like UAMS, he might have better proof. But on a motion for summary judgment, a plaintiff’s testimony about concrete, physical acts should raise a genuine dispute of material fact.
Hurst eventually figured out that forced catheterization is battery, not rape. (Rape of a male entails penetration of his anus, not his penis, according to some jurisdictions.)
Hurst did not ask permission to amend timely, according to Judge Timothy L. Brooks.
Judge Brooks said the proposed amendment would only recharacterize Defendants’ actions as “medical battery” rather than “rape.” He said that even if it had been timely submitted, it would have been futile because no § 1983 liability attaches to Defendants’ actions. Hurst mentioned torts and tort theory. He just failed to say he wanted to change the cause of action to battery.
Didn’t he know to say abracadabra and bippity boop?
Does University Counsel Let AI Write Her Briefs?
The attorney for the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas and UAMS, Sherri Robinson, supposedly wrote a brief in support of a motion to dismiss. Read the opposition written by two pro se plaintiffs who are not attorneys. Apparently, the licensed attorney either did not read the caselaw she cited or decided not to tell the court the truth.
The University’s brief follows. It is unbelievable that this shlock would be filed by a $ 160,000-per-year public employee. But seeing is believing.
Dr. Margolick and the Textbook Case of Negligence
Lawyers for UAMS doctors Joseph Margolick and Natalie Applebaum, et al., blame the nurse for leaving a sponge in a surgery patient.
Download the brief in support of a motion for summary judgment here and read the last paragraph on page 6.
“The standard of care does not require the physician-defendants ‘to actually count and confirm the number of sponges used during Mr. Wesson’s surgery. That is the RN circulator’s responsibility.'”
Now check out this quote from a 1L textbook used at the UAMS affiliated law school.
Can the independent contractor surgeon delegate the duty to keep track of the sponges used during surgery (to make sure none gets left in patient) to the surgical nurse employed by hospital? Thompson v. Baptist Mem. Hosp., 247 So.3d 229 (Miss. 2018)(surgeon’s duty to account for all sponges is nondelegable). Prosser, Wade and Schwartz’s Torts, 15th ed., page 867.
This is not legal advice. I am a 1L, not an attorney. I am a co-plaintiff in a different case against Dr. Joseph Margolick, Dr. Natalie Applebaum and a host of other UAMS medical providers.
We made sure to name all the nurses and patient care technicians who are culpable as well. Let the finger-pointing begin.
P.S. If you are a plaintiff’s attorney who is interested in representing one or both plaintiffs, contact bohemian_books@yahoo.com. Here is the complaint.
Is the University of Arkansas Defending Felons?
The Board of Trustees made a motion to dismiss a complaint that asks for equitable relief against the University. The plaintiffs asked for the highly paid professors at UAMS who battered and imprisoned a non-consenting adult to be fired. Rather than costing money, that will save UAMS millions of dollars per year that can be spent to hire doctors that don’t commit brutal felonies.
More Stupid Lawyer Tricks: Brought to you by the University of Arkansas
My civil procedure professor was describing some sleazy, unethical moves she’s seen opposing counsel pull. She gave a play‑by‑play of exactly what UAMS attorney Sherri Robinson does.
The stupid lawyer trick goes like this: she asks for more time to respond to interrogatories. After the opposing party graciously agrees to the extension, the “response” finally arrives—nothing but objections to every single interrogatory.
The workaround is to agree to the extension only on the condition that all, or at least most, of the interrogatories will actually be answered.
Convicted attorney, poker, and taxes.
Which of these things belong together? Convicted attorney and litigator, of course. They are two of my favorite things.
Because I am too busy to blog about it, please read this fun yet serious story on Politico by clicking the link.
Sunday Funday: Analysis of Uber Litigation for 1L Torts
One of my favorite professors sent an assignment to write a couple paragraphs about how a recent real-life verdict might affect a fictional client. This was a pleasure.
The Jaylynn Dean verdict against Uber and the associated Multi-District Litigation, In Re: Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation is certain to have a significant impact on our client. It is likely this opened a floodgate of actions to hold companies liable for negligent hiring of independent contractors who commit intentional torts while “working” for companies like our client.
Beyond the negligence claims, there is a possibility that record keeping and production of documents in litigation will become burdensome. Doe LS 340 v. Uber Techs., Inc., 710 F. Supp. 3d 794, 805 (N.D. Cal. 2024). Besides potential direct suits against our client, plaintiffs may seek discovery through Rule 45 non-party subpoenas. Lyft is already feeling the impact. See Order In Re: Uber Technologies, Inc., This Document Relates To: all cases, No. 23-MD-03084-CRB (LJC), 2026 WL 459188 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 18, 2026)(Resolving Joint Discovery Letter Regarding Subpoenas to Lyft).
Happy to expand as needed, Laura
Arkansas denied counsel before imprisoning a TBI patient.
A traumatic brain injury patient refused treatment at UAMS Medical Center. Dr. Adam Watkins and 70 other employees forced the patient to undergo fentanyl administration followed by two weeks of dangerous drugs and physical restraint.
The doctors mistakenly claimed the patient fell 34 or 35 feet. He jumped 10 feet. Doctors and nurses claimed they gave the patient no drugs that would cause his odd speech and intoxicated mannerisms. They gave him a cocktail of benzos, fentanyl, psych meds and barbitruats that could have put a small elephant in a coma.
This is a list of the sedating and psychoactive drugs administered in the first 23 hours:
- 1,000 mg levetiracetam at 5:46 p.m. on January 13 (Nathan Ernst, ordered by Sarah Martin);
- 50 mcg fentanyl at 5:51 p.m. on January 13 (Ernst, ordered by Dr. Natalie Applebaum);
- 0.5 mg lorazepam at 2:40 a.m. on January 14 (Lyrex Williams, ordered by Krista Stephenson), not
documented until January 19; - 5 mg intramuscular haloperidol at 8:40 a.m. on January 14 (Jacob Langston, ordered by Kindy);
- 1,000 mg levetiracetam at 9:02 a.m. on January 14 (Langston, ordered by Martin);
- Continuous dexmedetomidine infusion from 11:02 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on January 14
(Langston, ordered by Kindy); and - 5 mg olanzapine at 3:58 p.m. on January 14 (Williams, ordered by Tyler Rose).
The medical team intermittently claimed the patient was on a “72-hour psych hold.” For no explicable reason, the state employees never filed the petition required under Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 20-47-207, et seq. No judge was involved, and no counsel was appointed to represent the patient.
This writer negotiated the patient’s release after two weeks of confinement and numerous hospital-acquired conditions. The YouTube video posted above was taken three days before the release. We joined in a claim against UAMS and the individuals involved.
Instead of pursuing criminal charges against the persons responsible for the alleged false imprisonment and battery, highly paid state employees are trying to have me treated as if I committed the unauthorized practice of law. They also forbid me from video recording the continuous battery.
The statutory fee paid to counsel representing patients held without consent is $150. The litigation to compel compensation for the medical team’s victims will cost the people of Arkansas a million bucks, easy. Public funds wasted by MDs and JDs run amok.
A Higher Law 