Estate of Arturo Giron Alvarez et al v. The John Hopkins University et al, No. 1:2015cv00950 - Document 480 (D. Md. 2022)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by Judge Theodore D. Chuang on 4/18/2022. (ybs, Deputy Clerk)
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Estate of Arturo Giron Alvarez et al v. The John Hopkins University et al Doc. 480 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 1 of 77 Dockets.Justia.com Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 2 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 3 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 4 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 5 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 6 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 7 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 8 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 9 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 10 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 11 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 12 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 13 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 14 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 15 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 16 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 17 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 18 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 19 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 20 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 21 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 22 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 23 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 24 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 25 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 26 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 27 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 28 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 29 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 30 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 31 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 32 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 33 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 34 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 35 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 36 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 37 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 38 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 39 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 40 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 41 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 42 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 43 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 44 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 45 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 46 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 47 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 48 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 49 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 50 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 51 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 52 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 53 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 54 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 55 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 56 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 57 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 58 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 59 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 60 of 77 again advised Dr. Mahoney that they should strictly limit knowledge ofthe details of their work. Specifically, he stated that "it is imperative that the least possible be known and said about this project, for a few words to the wrong person here, or even at home, might wreck it or parts ofit." J.R. 400. He further stated that the "four ofus in our project have carefully discussed the matter and all feel that we should do all possible to keep knowledge of our project restricted," id., a group which Dr. Paul Lombardo, Senior Advisor to the Presidential Commission, believed to include Dr. Cutler; Dr. Mahoney; Dr. John Heller, the Chiefofthe PHS Venereal Disease Division, who had visited Guatemala; and possibly Dr. Spoto, but not the Johns Hopkins Professors. Accordingly, Dr. Cutler advised that he would send his "detailed reports and discussions of our work directly to you and not through any other person," and that in complying with the PASB's requirement for monthly reports, his team would "continue to send the barest summaries of our progress." J.R. 400. Dr. Cutler also noted that "[i]it is unfortunate that we have to work in such a guarded, even subterranean way, but it seems to be very necessary." Id In reply to Dr. Cutler's proposal to send his detailed reports solely to Dr. Mahoney, Dr. Mahoney stated that he was working to "restrict our own conversations and those ofothers bearing upon the matter" and stated that he had begun "forwarding all of[Cutler's] reports to Doctor Heller in a way which we hope will prevent their being read by unauthorized persons." J.R. 395. Dr. Mahoney further stated that he hoped Dr. Cutler "will not hesitate to stop the experimental work in the event of there being an undue amount of interest in that phase of the study" as it "would be preferable to delay the work than to risk the development of an antagonistic atmosphere." Id The secrecy appeared to extend throughout the Guatemala Experiments. On April 19, 1948, Dr. Arnold wrote to Dr. Cutler that he was "more than a bit ... leary [sic] ofthe experiment with the insane people" because "[t]hey can not give consent, do not know what is going on, and 60 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 61 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 62 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 63 of 77 undertaken an extensive experimental study in human volunteers in Guatemala with results which I am not at liberty to quote but which indicate that even under normal conditions of exposure, there is striking variability in the attack rate." J.R. 1914. Dr. Moore stated that he was seeking "to enlist the interest of competent investigators" to continue to research this issue, and that he had identified Dr. C. Phillip Miller, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, as someone interested in such work for whom "it would be desirable ... to have as much first-hand information as possible concerning previous studies" on this issue such as the Guatemala Experiments. J.R. 1915. He therefore requested that Dr. Miller be appointed as a consultant to the Surgeon General in order to allow him to travel to Guatemala for up to two weeks to "familiarize himself with the U.S. Public Health Service Project." J.R. 1915. While Plaintiffs correctly note that this statement may support the conclusion that certain non-public results of the Guatemala Experiments had been shared with Dr. Moore, the conclusion that it also reflects that Dr. Moore was aware of the nonconsensual nature of the experiments does not follow, particularly where· Dr. Moore specifically described the Guatemala Experiments as using "human volunteers" and referenced only results that related to_ "normal conditions of exposure," a term that was elsewhere used to refer to transmission through sexual contact. J.R. 1914. Even if this letter could be construed as evidence of Dr. Moore's knowledge that the Experiments included nonconsensual human medical experiments, it post-dates both the SSS's initial 1946 recommendation of funding and 1947 recommendation of renewed funding and thus cannot support a finding that those actions were taken with the requisite purpose of facilitating nonconsensual human medical experimentation. Although Plaintiffs have characterized this letter as showing that Dr.Moore was "push[ing] support for the Experiments," Pis.' Mot. Summ. J. at 48, it cannot be fairly characterized as substantial assistance to the Guatemala Experiments. In the letter, Dr. Moore's request that Dr. 63 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 64 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 65 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 66 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 67 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 68 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 69 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 70 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 71 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 72 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 73 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 74 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 75 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 76 of 77 Case 1:15-cv-00950-TDC Document 480 Filed 04/18/22 Page 77 of 77
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