Hunter v. United States · ¶40

After sentencing, Mr. Hunter sought to appeal the district court's forced-medication condition to the Fifth Circuit. There, he pointed to this Court's decisions holding that individuals enjoy a “constitutionally protected liberty interest in avoiding the unwanted administration of antipsychotic drugs.” Sell v. United States, 539 U. S. 166, 178 (2003) (internal quotation marks omitted). Under those precedents, he argued, the district court could not constitutionally force him to take psychiatric medication absent compelling evidence that it was necessary to promote a valid sentencing- related interest. And, he submitted, the district court had no compelling evidence before it that forcing him to take psychiatric medication would advance a legitimate penological interest associated with his crime of stealing $38,648.77. See Brief for Appellant in No. 24–20211 (CA5), pp. 10–11.

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