Kelly C. Mayer-Rebello published “Health Law—Prosecutorial Interpretation No Longer Enough as Subjective Standard Set for Conviction of Physicians Under the Controlled Substances Act – United States v. Ruan, 56 F.4th 1291 (11th Cir. 2023)” in the 2023 Journal of Health & Biomedical Law.
The article discusses a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which partially overturned a physician’s conviction for violating the Controlled Substances Act. Kelly notes this decision severed the government’s overreaching efforts to criminalize medical care and this shift in statutory interpretation emphasized the presumption of scienter in federal criminal proceedings, resulting in legal protection of physicians’ imperfect medical practices when conducted in good faith.
Kelly goes on to note that in United States v. Ruan, the Eleventh Circuit held that a properly instructed jury may not have voted to convict Ruan had they known Ruan’s subjective, good faith belief in his medical practices could act as an affirmative defense. This new statutory interpretation relies on the role of mens rea to differentiate innocent from criminal conduct within the context of health care.
Read the full article here.
