Talk:Buck v. Bell

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Contents 1 Statutory Authority for Additional Sterilizations? 2 Mental age of 8? 3 "Mental age" in further life 4 Irving Whitehead Misrepresented 5 Removal of Paragraph on Irving Whitehead 6 What does 'avid reader' mean and where did it come from? 7 Adding Redirect 8 dissent

[edit] Statutory Authority for Additional Sterilizations?

This article does not adequately explain the fact that Carrie Bell's mother (54) and daughter (3) and sister were also sterilized as a consequence of this Supreme Court decision. Given that Virginia's "Sterilization Act" only gave authority for sterilizing inmates of state institutions, how were Bell's mother, daughter and sister also compelled to be sterilized? -- Cadwallader 02:25, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Is it because they were in a mental facility? Jmatthew3 14:06, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mental age of 8?

Who is the authority for saying that "Buck's mother ...[had] a mental age of 8"? I know the lawyers alleged this, but it there any authority beyond that? Our article currently states it as fact. -- Jmabel 21:51, Sep 13, 2004 (UTC)

Good point, didn't realize that had come off that way (the "claimed Priddy" was supposed to be for the whole statement, not just the criminal record). It's according to the Colony superintendent, that's all. I restructured the sentence a bit, hopefully that makes it more clear. --Fastfission 02:02, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

[edit] "Mental age" in further life

I assume there must have been subsequent examinations of her IQ or "mental age" or whatever - I wonder how they turned out? (131.130.121.106 18:51, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC))

I have not heard of any follow-ups on Carrie Buck except those done by journalists in the early 1980s (one is noted in Stephen J. Gould's epilogue to The Mismeasure of Man, who says that both Carrie and her sister Doris, also sterilized, were "able and intelligent"). One (I think in Kevles' In the name of eugenics, but maybe from somewhere else) I have seen said she enjoyed crossword puzzles. Personally I find none of this terribly convincing about her intelligence one way or the other, but I find the issue of her actual intelligence to be very, very minor in the scope of the case as a whole, which was a pretty clear miscarriage of justice when seen through a historical lens (rigged defense, expert testimony from cranks, and the entire circumstances being misrepresented), though by the time it reached the Supreme Court all of that was too late to have been sorted out (the Supreme Court generally does not do fact-finding in regards to the original case; they take for granted that the facts agreed upon in the previous trials were validated or previously challenged if need be, and such was clearly not the case in this instance). --Fastfission 05:18, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Irving Whitehead Misrepresented

The article states that: "Carrie's lawyer, Irving Whitehead, poorly argued her case, failed to call important witnesses, and was remarked by commentators to often not know what side he was on." In appellate advocacy (such as arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court) witnesses are not called, as they would be in a trial. No testimony is given and no evidence of any kind is entered. It is understood that the facts were established at trial, and not disputed by the parties.

The wording was just a little out of order. He wasn't misrepresented; that just refers to the earlier part of the trial, before it reached the Supreme Court. --Fastfission 03:33, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Removal of Paragraph on Irving Whitehead

I have removed the following passage because it is a condemnation (thus potentially controversial) of a historical figure without any citation.

"Buck's lawyer, Irving Whitehead, poorly argued her case, failed to call important witnesses, and was remarked by commentators to often not know what side he was on. It is now thought that this was not because of incompetence, but deliberate. Whitehead had close connections both to the counsel for the institution, and Priddy himself. He was also a member of the governing board of the state institution in which Buck resided, and had personally authorized Priddy's sterilization requests and was a strong supporter of eugenic sterilization."

Cite and return if you'd like, but you can't just throw down historical accusations without reference. Bullzeye^{Complaint Dept./Contribs)} 21:04, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

That specifically came from a documentary. I do not remember the name, but the citation is out there if someone is willing to search for it

[edit] What does 'avid reader' mean and where did it come from?

This page says Carrie Buck was an avid reader until 1983 without attribution or explaination; the sentence makes no sense. It also says that Vivian was on the honor roll without attribution, or explaination why she did not continue schooling if successful. 24.6.224.165 01:11, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Adding Redirect

Sorry I'm new here, but has any one thought it worth while to include redirects for court cases when some types in "vs" or "verses" instead of just "v."?--Waxsin 20:47, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Hey guy, the ct system only accepts v. to place vs and verses redirects on all the cases doesnt need to be done. Ppl just need to know that the v. is the way to go

[edit] dissent

There was one dissenting opinion. anyone know what that was about? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.138.214.100 (talk) 20:02, 27 March 2008 (UTC)