Unanimous Federal Appeals Panel Blasts Trump Administration in HIV-Military Discharge Cases

A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, Virginia, blasted the Trump Administration on January 10 for relying on “outmoded”  information that is “at odds with current science” when the Air Force moved to discharge otherwise healthy HIV-positive service members based on the spurious assertion that they were not available for deployment outside the United States.  Roe v. U.S. Department of Defense, 2020 U.S. App. … <Read More>


Ohio Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Constitutional Challenge to HIV Disclosure Law

The seven-member Ohio Supreme Court unanimously rejected a free speech and equal protection challenge to the state’s law making it a felony assault for a person who knows he is HIV-positive to engage in “sexual conduct” with another person without disclosing his HIV-positive status to this sexual partner.  State of Ohio v. Batista, 2017-Ohio-8304, 2017 WL 4838768, 2017 Ohio LEXIS 2172 (Oct. 26, 2017).  The court divided 4-3, however, on the appropriate legal analysis leading … <Read More>


Ohio Appeals Court Upholds Conviction of HIV-Positive Gay Man for Felonious Assault in Non-Disclosure Case

The 9th District Court of Appeals of Ohio affirmed a felonious assault conviction and five-year prison sentence for Jeffrey A. Boatright, a gay man who was convicted by a jury of violating the section of the state’s felonious assault statute pertaining to HIV-positive individuals who fail to disclose their status prior to engaging in sex.  State of Ohio v. Boatright, 2017-Ohio-5794, 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 2854, 2017 WL 2979147 (July 12, 2017).  The … <Read More>


Military Appeals Court Changes Analysis of “Aggravated Assault” HIV Exposure Cases

Reversing the conviction of HIV-positive Air Force Technical Sergeant David Gutierrez on charges of aggravated assault for engaging in unprotected oral and vaginal sex with women during “swingers” parties, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled on February 23 in United States v. Gutierrez, No. 13-0522, that statistics about the likelihood of transmission of HIV under such circumstances would not support a conviction under Article 128(b) of the Uniform Code of Military … <Read More>


New York Appellate Division Rebuffs Syracuse D.A. on Felony Charges in HIV Exposure Case

A unanimous five-judge panel of the New York Appellate Division, 4th Department, has rejected an argument by the office of Syracuse District Attorney William Fitzpatrick that an HIV-positive man should face felony charges carrying a mandatory minimum prison term for exposing another person to HIV by failing to disclose his infection before engaging in unprotected sex.  The court approved a decision by Onondaga County Supreme Court Justice John J. Brunetti to reduce the charge to … <Read More>