United States v. Stanley

483 U.S. 669 (1987)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In 1958, Stanley (P) was a master sergeant in the Army stationed at Fort Knox. P volunteered for a program to test the effectiveness of protective clothing and equipment against chemical warfare attacks. P was released from his current command and went to Aberdeen in Maryland. During his stay, P was secretly administered LSD four times without his knowledge or consent. P claims in his complaint that he suffered from hallucinations and periods of incoherence and memory loss and that they impaired his military performance. P also claimed that on occasion he would awake from sleep at night and violently beat his wife and children and then be unable to recall the event. P was discharged from the army in 1969. One year later his marriage was dissolved, and P claimed it was due to the LSD. On December 10, 1975, the Army sent P a letter soliciting his cooperation on the effects of a long-term study on the LSD that was given him as a volunteer in 1958. This was the first time that P was notified. P made an administrative claim for compensation, and the Army denied that. P then sued nine named individuals, the University of Maryland Board of Regents, and others for violating his constitutional rights. The trial court denied Ds’ motion to dismiss P’s Bivens claim but certified its order for interlocutory appeal under 1292(b). The Court of Appeals refused to dismiss. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.