當由刑事被告所提交之專家證詞中宣稱，被告係在綜合短期及長期使用安非他命所產生之作用而陷入精神障礙之狀態，對執法人員犯下第一級殺人罪，國家命法院對被告進行精神評估以反駁被告所提之精神狀態抗辯時，是否違反了美國憲法第5次修正案所賦予被告之不自證己罪之權利？(When a criminal defendant affirmatively introduces expert testimony that he lacked the requisite mental state to commit capital murder of a law enforcement officer due to the alleged temporary and long-term effects of the defendant’s methamphetamine use, does the State violate the defendant’s Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination by rebutting the defendant’s mental state defense with evidence from a court-ordered mental evaluation of the defendant?)
當刑事被告為自己提出的抗辯進行辯護時，國家以對被告進行之精神評估結果作為彈劾被告證詞之證據，是否違反美國憲法第5次修正案？(When a criminal defendant testifies in his own defense, does the State violate the Fifth Amendment by impeaching such testimony with evidence from a court-ordered mental evaluation of the defendant?)
經歷4天的審理，於10月12日Heather Nicole Nix被法院以「HIV感染者基於間接故意之行為(reckless conduct by an HIV infected person)(註1)」的重罪(felony，註2)起訴。她未感染HIV的前夫，在法院對她提出不利的證詞，法院駁回公設辯護人的答辯，逕予宣判刑度，給予10年有期徒刑，應於監獄內執行2年，緩刑8年。
該公設辯護律師認為：一部分違反被告依美國憲法第14號修正案所享有之平等對待權之主張在於，HIV感染者與其他同樣為透過性行為而傳染之疾病，在法律上之對待並不一致。(…denies the defendant equal protection under the law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution…part of the equal protection challenge is that the law treats people with HIV differently than people with other sexually transmitted diseases.)此外，該法律欠缺憲法所要求的明確性。(…that the law is unconstitutionally vague.)
參與原審的州檢察官認為：本案的產生並非基於一個對HIV感染者之刻板印象，而是在於「HIV感染者的性伴侶所可能暴露的那些危險上」，這足以構成喬治亞州法的違反。(…the case "wasn't based on stigmatizing HIV." Instead, she said, "It was a violation of Georgia law to not notify a sexual partner of the risk that they were taking.")
相關人權協會認為：難以理解的部分在於，這到底產生了什麼風險，即便事後來看，其前夫也沒有染上HIV。根據控訴者的判斷而提起這樣的訴訟著實令人困惑，更令人擔憂的是，若被告入獄之後的問題。(…it's difficult to understand what harm was done, since the ex-husband does not have HIV. "It's very troubling that the prosecution executed it's discretion to pursue this and even more troubling that she got prison time,"….)
註1：The statute used in this case is 16-5-60 of the Georgia Code: "Reckless conduct causing harm to or endangering the bodily safety of another; conduct by HIV infected persons; assault by HIV infected persons." The law, passed in 1988, says the information must be shared "prior to" a sexual act. The maximum penalty is 10 years.共有5種行為態樣，可參考：http://statutes.laws.com/georgia/title-16/chapter-5/article-4/16-5-60
春風煦日論壇出版品 (1)
