U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1999

Morris v. Dearborne

181 F.3d 657 (5th Cir. 1999)

Holding

Held that a teacher who used facilitated communication on a four-year-old who could neither read nor write to manufacture sexual-abuse allegations against the child's parents was not entitled to qualified immunity: fabricating evidence to destroy a family unit is an abusive, irrational, and malicious use of state power that shocks the conscience, and the right to family integrity was clearly established. The court catalogued professional-body statements that facilitated communication is not a scientifically valid technique, and held the IDEA affords no remedy for FC-manufactured allegations — the leading federal decision on FC-derived evidence.

Precedent health-check

Caution · 125 citing

Some later courts have distinguished or questioned it — read before relying.

Treatment last confirmed July 18, 2026. Case-wide subsequent treatment; human-set. Not specific to any one passage.

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Claims relevant to this case

Facilitated communication (FC, "supported typing") is not a valid communication technique: controlled authorship studies unanimously show that FC-generated messages are authored by the facilitator rather than the person with a disability, no new validating evidence has emerged, and every major professional body opposes its use — so statements produced through FC, including abuse allegations, cannot be attributed to the person with the disability.
Evidence: HighConsensus: Established Certified· communication interventions / disability