Stoller Case Share
Tommorow, the ALJ will tell us whether we get to present evidence justifying ten SB 277 medical exemptions that Ken Stoller issued which stated that immunization was not safe for these children. Yes, it is surprising that we might not be able to present evidence on vaccine safety since vaccine safety (or lack thereof) is the actual statutory basis for writing medical exemptions under SB 277. But maybe special rules apply to cases involving vaccines, or maybe it is the times we live in.
The Board’s view is that there is no medical judgement to be made. Physicians just consult the ACIP chart of contraindications and precautions. If the basis isn’t on the chart, there’s no exemption for that shot. Of course, that’s not what the law says (or not what the passed version of the law says), but again, maybe it’s the times we live in.
Part of our case is based on the testimony of the highly regarded physician, James Neuenschwander who gave a moving and very elegant presentation at a recent ACIP meeting. In administrative cases (and civil trials) the parties have to exchange expert reports. The community might be interested in reading Neu’s (as he’s referred to) report. So here it is. It is very, very good.
Another part of our case which is also being attacked by the board is testimony from Greg Glaser, the general counsel of Physicians for Informed Consent and the most knowledgeable person on California vaccine law in the state. He worked with the group of integrative doctors to assess the impact of SB 277. We feel his information is critical to understand why integrative physicians believe they had the right to write medical exemptions under SB 277 much broader than ACIP guidelines.
Greg’s testimony is about his analysis of the law which he conveyed to Ken and others, which we think is a relevant consideration in this case. If nothing else, it shows the state of confusion of a significant number of California physicians who had the impression from the statute and statements from Senator Pan that exemptions could be written based on family history of even cousins. Apparently, their bad for actually reading the law and taking Senator Pan seriously and literally, and worst of all, for actually using the space in between their ears to decide what’s best for their patients, even if it conflicts with the ACIP chart.
Tomorrow, we will find out whether he will be permitted to testify. There is a legitimate legal issue involved here. Typically, lawyers cannot testify about what U.S. law is or means because the only legal expert in a case is the judge. This is mostly due to possible jury confusion, and to make sure the jury follows the judge’s instructions about the law. But, of course that is not a problem when there is no jury, like in administrative law cases. I am completely confident that the judge will understand that she decides the legal issues in the case, and that she is able to accept Greg’s testimony for the limited purposes for which it is offered, but we’ll see.
Here is Greg’s witness statement. Like Neu’s, it’s quite brilliant and compelling.
here is the gogetfunding page for donations:
More by Friday.
Rick Jaffe, Esq.
One thought on “Stoller Case Share”
There are 11 medical exemptions that are in question that Dr Stroller wrote. Have those particular parents been notified that their child’s exemption is one of the 11 in question ? Just wondering is all and thank you for keeping all of us up to date with what’s going on. It is greatly appreciated