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Abstract: 

The case that is emblematic of an era in mental disability law, Wyatt v. Stickney, 344 F.Supp. 373 (M.D.Ala.1972), aff’d in part, 503 F.2d 1305 (5th Cir.1974), came to an end in federal court in Montgomery, AL, on December 5, 2003, when Judge Myron Thompson found that the state of Alabama had complied with the latest settlement agreement in this 33-yearold case, and dismissed the action. Over the lifespan of this case, there have been seven United States presidents, nine Alabama governors, and 14 mental health commissioners. Wyatt is perhaps one of the most influential cases not decided by the United States Supreme Court, one which has shaped the course and development of mental health law in the United States and beyond. Originally commenced in 1970, at the behest of employees fearing the loss of their jobs at Bryce Hospital during a budget crisis, it became a case about patients’ rights to adequate services with, of course, an adequate number of employees being indispensable to that right. This article constitutes a history of that case and its resolution.

Keywords: Wyatt standards; Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr.

Affiliations:  .