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Judge Rotenberg Educational Center Can Use Electric Shocks On Residents, Massachusetts High Court Says

September 8, 2023

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled in favor of allowing using electric shock devices to address aggressive or self-harming behavior in residents at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center, a Canton-based institution dedicated to individuals with developmental disabilities and behavioral disorders.

The ruling in Judge Rotenberg Educational Center v. Commissioner of the Department of Developmental Services follows a 2018 lower court decision that found the state acted in bad faith when regulating the center.

The lower court, presided over by Judge Katherine Field of Bristol County Probate Court, concluded that state officials in 2010 altered a staff report to remove a finding of “substantial compliance” with state requirements by the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center. Additionally, the judge found that the state’s Department of Developmental Services attempted to impose a moratorium on shock treatment for new patients in 2011 without reviewing scientific evidence.

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center is the only institution in the country that uses this treatment, which has faced opposition for decades. Families of residents argue that shock therapy is the only viable option for individuals who would otherwise require constant sedation or restraint.

Michael Flammia, an attorney for the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center, told Reuters, “The ruling ensures that the lifesaving, court-approved electrical stimulation device treatment remains available to those for whom all other treatment options have been tried and failed.”

Justice Scott Kafker, in the Supreme Judicial Court’s opinion dated Thursday, September 8, acknowledged the contentious nature of the issue and suggested that the state may take further action based on new evidence in the future.

The legal battle over the use of electric shock treatment at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center dates back to 1985, when the state initially attempted to ban the practice. Subsequent legal battles resulted in a consent decree in 1987, allowing the treatment to continue. In 2013, the state attempted to terminate the consent order, but Judge Field’s 2018 ruling determined the consent decree would continue because of regulatory misconduct by state authorities.

In a separate case in 2021, a federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could not ban the use of the shock device.

 

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