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Center for Policy Studies
Public Affairs Discussion Group |
Sharona Hoffman, J.D. - Professor of Law and Bioethics, Edgar A. Hahn Professor of Jurisprudence, and Co-Director, Law-Medicine Center |
Friday April 4, 2025
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Meeting Both In-Person and by Zoom
Dampeer Room, Second Floor of Kelvin Smith Library*
Case Western Reserve University
For those interested in participating by Zoom please e-mail padg@case.edu for more information.
Dear Colleagues:
This week’s “Friday Lunch” discussion may hit rather close to home for many of the participants.
“With a growing elderly population, cognitive decline in drivers has become a significant public safety concern. Currently, over thirty-two million individuals who are seventy or older have drivers licenses, and that number is growing quickly. In addition, almost ten percent of U.S. seniors (those sixty-five or older) have dementia, and an additional twenty-two percent have mild cognitive impairment. Between a quarter and a half of individuals with mild-to-moderate dementia still drive.”
This quote is from an article on “Patient Autonomy, Public Safety, and Drivers with Cognitive Decline by our CWRU School of Law colleagues, Sharona Hoffman and Cassandra Burke Robertson, forthcoming in the UC Irvine Law Review. As they explain, there is a definite public safety concern but what to do about it is a conundrum. To begin, driving is “a key aspect of independence and mobility,” and premature restrictions are likely to worsen any existing decline. It is hard to set objective standards to draw the line between who should be able to drive and who should not. If there is not a totally measurable standard, then whose expertise should be trusted, and how will they become involved? I suspect most of us can think of examples in which someone’s physician told family members they should convince Mom to give up the keys, and it didn’t go very well. I certainly spent years hoping my own mother would not need too damaging an accident or moving violation to attract police attention that would get her license revoked (it took a very minor fender-bender). And she was really miserable afterwards.
“Driving with cognitive decline,” Professors Hoffman and Robertson summarize, “is a multifaceted challenge that impacts public safety, personal independence, family relationships, legal rights, and healthcare practices.” They suggest “a framework for enhanced medical and regulatory protocols” that seeks to involve medical judgment in the processes of license approval or removal. Professor Hoffman has kindly agreed to join us to discuss their ideas about a dilemma that everyone is likely to face from some perspective – as grandchild, child, or for themselves. And maybe with different perspectives at different times.
Best wishes for safety and security for you and yours,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies
About Our Guest
Sharona Hoffman joined the faculty in 1999. She is the Edgar A. Hahn Professor of Law, professor of bioethics, and co-director of the law school's Law-Medicine Center. Professor Hoffman served as associate dean for Academic Affairs from 2006–2009. She teaches Health Law courses, Employment Discrimination, and Civil Procedure and was voted First Year Teacher of the Year in 2011, 2012 and 2019. She has won several other distinctions for her teaching and scholarship, including the 2021 Case Western Reserve University Faculty Distinguished Research Award. Dr. Hoffman was elected to membership in the American Law Institute in 2017.
Professor Hoffman received her BA from Wellesley College, her JD from Harvard Law School, an LLM in health law from the University of Houston, and an SJD in health law from Case Western Reserve University. Prior to becoming an academic, she was a senior trial attorney at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Houston, a litigation associate at O'Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles, and a judicial clerk for U.S. District Judge Douglas W. Hillman (Western District of Michigan).
* Kelvin Smith Library requires all entrants to show identification when entering the building, unless they have a university i.d. that they can magnetically scan. We are sorry if that seems like a hassle, but it has been Library policy for a while in response to security concerns. Please do not complain to the library staff at the entrance, who are just doing their jobs.
Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:
April 11: TBA Alternate Room: Kelvin Smith Library Room LL06
April 18: The Political Crisis of Higher Education. With Michael Clune, Ph.D., Samuel B. and Virginia Knight Professor of the Humanities, Department of English, and Ben Mauk, Shirley Wormser Professor of Journalism, Department of English.
April 25: Loving Primary Care to Death. With Joe White, Ph.D., Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy, and with comments from Kurt Stange, MD, Ph.D., Distinguished University Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health. Alternate Room: Mather House 100 | |
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