Abstract
In choosing to criminalize the attempted spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), several United States jurisdictions not only ignore the public health harms associated with their draconian approach, but also commit logical and due process errors in their prosecutions, thus discriminating against the HIV-positive population. In this chapter, I consider a common case where jurisdictions use aggravated assault—an assault by means likely to produce grievous bodily harm or death. By looking at several cases in depth, I show that certain courts use a guilt-by-association rule, sweeping in all HIV-positive individuals under the criminal law regardless of the likelihood of transmission, which is a key element in any aggravated assault charge. Many courts do not distinguish between those who have high viral loads and those who virtually cannot transmit the disease at all—namely, those who are on highly active antiretroviral therapy, have an undetectable viral load, use condoms, and have no sexually transmitted infections. The chapter concludes by highlighting the discriminatory effect of criminalization.
Ari Ezra Waldman, Associate Director, Institute for Information Law and Policy, New York Law School; Ph.D. Candidate, Columbia University; J.D., Harvard Law School; A.B., magna cum laude, Harvard College.
A version of this chapter was originally published as an article at Ari Ezra Waldman, Exceptions: The Criminal Law’s Illogical Approach to HIV-Related Aggravated Assaults, 18 Va. J. L. & Soc. Pol’y 552 (2011). It has been used with permission. It also includes excerpts from Ari Ezra Waldman, Ask a Lawyer: The Injustice of HIV Criminalization, BETA Blog, May 3, 2013, at http://betablog.org/ask-a-lawyer-the-injustice-of-hiv-criminalization.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank The Honorable Scott W. Stucky, Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and James A. Young, Chief Commissioner in Judge Stucky’s chambers, for advice and support in writing the original article. Special thanks to the faculty at California Western School of Law and the Faculty Development Committee for providing essential feedback and an opportunity to workshop the arguments contained herein.
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Waldman, A.E. (2014). Presumptive Criminals: U.S. Criminal Law and HIV-Related Aggravated Assaults. In: Peterson, D., Panfil, V. (eds) Handbook of LGBT Communities, Crime, and Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9188-0_17
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