Physician Liability for #OUD (Arguments in Ruan v. US)

Convicted doctors argued their appeal in the United States Supreme Court the other day. At issue are jury instructions given in their case and the standard imposed by the trial court.

For nearly 90 minutes on Tuesday, the court grappled with the question of whether good faith is a defense for doctors criminally prosecuted for unlawful distribution of controlled substances. The court probed both sides intensely, struggling with the grammar of the Controlled Substances Act, the clarity of the relevant regulation, and the proposition that a doctor who lacked subjective criminal intent could nevertheless be jailed for a substantial period of time.

Here is the link to the story in SCOTUSBlog

https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/03/in-opioids-pill-mill-case-justices-grapple-with-physician-intent/