Sullivan v. Bornemann.

U.S. Appeals Court

MEDICAL SCREENING

Sullivan v. Bornemann, 384 F.3d 372 (7th Cir. 2004). An arrestee brought an action against police officers and hospital staff. He had been arrested for disorderly conduct but jail staff refused to admit him to confinement without medical clearance because of his high breathalyzer test result. The arresting officers took him to the emergency room of a local hospital where he failed to voluntarily produce a urine sample. The emergency room doctor ordered a catheterization, and the officers restrained the arrestee during the brief procedure. The district court entered judgment for the defendants and the arrestee appealed. The appeals court affirmed. The appeals court held that the officers' acquiescence in the hospital nurse's request to help her restrain the arrestee during the catheterization process did not violate the arrestee's Fourth Amendment rights. The court found that the State's substantial interest in assuring the medical stability of the pretrial detainee outweighed the arrestee's due process right to refuse unwanted medical treatment. (Shawano County Jail, Wisconsin)