Macalester College DigitalCommons@Macalester College Political Science Honors Projects Political Science Department 1-18-2017 Finding Autonomy: The mpI act of Judicial Discretion for Disabled Individuals in the American Guardianship System Katherine Davis
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/poli_honors Part of the Disability Law Commons, Family Law Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Davis, Katherine, "Finding Autonomy: The mpI act of Judicial Discretion for Disabled Individuals in the American Guardianship System" (2017). Political Science Honors Projects. 70. http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/poli_honors/70 This Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Political Science Department at DigitalCommons@Macalester College. It has been accepted for inclusion in Political Science Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Macalester College. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Finding Autonomy: The Impact of Judicial Discretion for Disabled Individuals in the American Guardianship System Katherine Davis Patrick Schmidt Political Science January 18, 2017 1 Abstract This study examines the conflict between guardianship and the American disability rights movement, specifically the shift from a medical to a capability model of disability. Legal guardianship presents judges with a dilemma of favoring individual autonomy or societal protection. This dichotomy manifests in the construction of state statutes where legislators can influence judicial discretion and sway decisions. Through analysis of state statutes, case law, and interviews with judges in Connecticut and Minnesota, this study found that higher levels of discretion do not necessarily translate to increased protection of individual autonomy or the use of alternatives to guardianship.