Pharmacist Problem
Delivery of Diluted Drugs - Robert Courtney

For the past two days, we have been reading and hearing about allegations against local pharmacist Robert Courtney charging that he provided dosages of chemotherapy drugs that contained only a fraction of the amount of the actual drugs ordered by physicians.  These drugs were to be used by patients in battling cancer.

Please read the linked articles about this case.  Do not do any independent research of facts or law at this point.  Be prepared to discuss in class what you think should or might happen in this case.  What charges do you think he might be subjected to?  What kind of charges should he be subjected to?  If the charges are found to have merit, what kind of punishment is warranted?

What kind of additional investigation should be made.  Under what kinds of circumstances should additional charges be filed, and what kind of charges.

I realize this requires you to rely not on the law, but upon your own preconceptions about criminal law and your views about the appropriate role of the criminal law.  For now, that's what I want to address.  We will revisit this case later in the semester to look more closely at the legal principles involved and to see whether what we have learned so far has been helpful in trying to find an appropriate resolution to this troublesome case.