Global InformationStarson v Swayze information
| Starson v Swayze | |
|---|---|
 Supreme Court of Canada | |
| Hearing: January 15, 2003 Judgment: June 6, 2003 | |
| Full case name | Dr Russel Fleming v Professor Starson aka Scott Jeffery Schutzman |
| Citations | 2003 SCC 32, [2003] 1 S.C.R. 722 |
| Ruling | Appeal dismissed |
| Court membership | |
| Chief Justice: Beverley McLachlin Puisne Justices: Charles Gonthier, Frank Iacobucci, John C. Major, Michel Bastarache, Ian Binnie, Louise Arbour, Louis LeBel, Marie Deschamps | |
| Reasons given | |
| Majority | Major J. (paras. 61 - 120), joined by Iacobucci, Bastarache, Binnie, Arbour and Deschamps JJ. |
| Dissent | McLachlin C.J. (paras. 1 - 60), joined by Gonthier and LaBel JJ. |
Starson v Swayze, 2003 SCC 32, [2003] 1 S.C.R. 722 was an important case at the Supreme Court of Canada that considered the legal requirements for determining if a person is capable of making decisions regarding their medical treatment.
On December 24, 1998, Dr. Ian Gary Swayze declared Professor Starson (a.k.a. Scott Jeffery Schutzman) incapable of consenting to proposed psychiatric treatment and should therefore be involuntarily medicated as directed. Starson applied to a legal body known as the Consent and Capacity Board for a review of this decision. On June 6, 2003, the Supreme Court of Canada published its decision in the case. In a 6 to 3 decision, the majority held that Starson had the right to refuse medication.