Published August, 1997
State v. Bird, Amicus Brief, Supreme Court of Ohio, Lambda Legal (August 7, 1997)
Lambda Legal submitted this amicus brief on behalf of an HIV-positive defendant in an appeal of a criminal conviction for assault with a deadly weapon for spitting in a police officer's face. The brief argues that the defendant should not have been convicted of assault because there is no scientific basis for treating saliva as a source of HIV transmission. The brief further asserts that singling out people with HIV for enhanced punishment for behavior that bears no risk of HIV transmission frustrates important public policy goals.
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