Examples of
acknowledgments
Short forms of acknowledgment
The forms of acknowledgment set forth in this section may be used and are sufficient for their respective purposes under any law of
this State. The forms shall be known as "Statutory Short Forms of Acknowledgment" and may be referred to by that name. The
authorization of the forms in this section does not preclude the use of other forms. [1969, c. 364 (new).]

1. Individual. For an individual acting in his own right: State of

County of

The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this (date) by (name of person acknowledged).

(Signature of person taking acknowledgment)

(Title or rank)

(Serial number, if any)

[1969, c. 364 (new).]

2. Corporation. For a corporation: State of

County of

State of

County of

The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this (date) by (name of attorney in fact) as attorney in fact on behalf of (name
of principal).

(Signature of person taking acknowledgment)

(Title or rank)

(Serial number, if any)

[1969, c. 364 (new).]
Acknowledgments
[
continued
]
68 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ACCOUNTING of the new company’s profits for the
years it has been using the label. A court will
refuse the accounting, because by its acquies-
cence the competitor tacitly approved the use of
the label. The competitor, however, might be
entitled to an injunction barring the new
company from further use of its trademark if
it is so similar to the competitor’s label as to

several years had elapsed from the first time the
label had been used is laches.
ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY
SYNDROME
A disease caused by the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) that produces disorders and infections
that can lead to death.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(AIDS), a fatal dis ease t hat atta cks the body ’s
immune system making it unable to resist infec-
tion, is caused by the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV), which is communicable in some
bodily fluids and transmitted primarily through
sexual be havior and i ntravenous drug u se.
The United States struggled to cope with
AIDS from the early 1980s until the late 1990s,
when new drug therapies started to extend the
length and quality of life for many people with
5. Public officer. By any public officer, trustee or personal representative: State of

County of

The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this (date) by (name and title of position).

(Signature of person taking acknowledgment)

(Title or rank)

AIDS. Since the beginning, AIDS and its
resulting epidemic in the United States have
raised a great number of legal issues, which are
made all the more difficult by the nature of the
disease. AIDS is a unique killer, but some of its
aspects are not: epidemics have been seen
before; other sexually transmitted diseases have
been fatal. AIDS is different because it was
discovered in—and in the United States
still predominantly afflicts—unpopular social
groups: gay men and drug users. This fact has
had a strong impact on the shaping of AIDS
law. Law is often shaped by politics, and AIDS is
a highly politicized disease. The challenge in
facing an epidemic that endangers everyone is
complicated by the stigma attached to the
people most likely to be killed by it.
Epidemics have no single answer beyond a
cure. Because no cure for AIDS exists, the law
continues to grapple with a vast number of
problems. The federal government has addressed
AIDS in two broad ways: by spending money on
research and treatment of the disease and by
prohibiting unfairness to people with HIV or
AIDS. It has funded medical treatment, research,
and public education, and it has passed laws
prohibiting
DISCRIMINATION against people who
are HIV-positive or who have developed AIDS.
States and local municipalities have joined

when it became clear that heterosexuals were
The AIDS quilt,
on display in
Washington, D.C.,
has become a well-
known symbol of
support for AIDS
victims and their
families. Families and
supporters of AIDS
victims create a panel
to commemorate a
person’s life; each
panel is then joined
with others from
around the country.
LEE SNIDER/CORBIS.
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
70 ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME
also contracting the disease, the epidemic
acquired higher priority.
By the late 1980s much of the harshness in
public debate had diminished. Bot h liberals and
conservatives lined up to support
LEGISLATIVE
solutions. President RONALD REAGAN left office
recommending increases in federal funding for
medical research on AIDS. Already the amount
spentinthisareahadrisenfrom$61millionin
1984 to nearly $1.3 billi on in 198 8. President

ALIENS,he
signed
LEGISLATION continuing it. In addition, he
met a major obstacle on another proposal:
Congress failed to pass his health care reform
package, which would have provided health
coverage to all U.S. citizens with HIV, delivered
drug treatment against AIDS, on demand, to
intravenous drug users, and prohibited health
plans from providing lower coverage for AIDS
than for other life-threatening diseases.
President
GEORGE W. BUSH also passed
initiatives that allocated federal funds toward
fighting the aids epidemic. In 2003 he an-
nounced the President’s Emergency Plan for
AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in which he called upon
congress to pass legislation that would appro-
priate $15 billion over five years to support
international AIDS prevention and the purchase
of anti-viral drugs. The largest share of the
money was contributed directly by the United
States to other countries, such as through
programs sponsored by the U.S. Agency for
International Development. The proposal
accounted for almost half the money in a global
fund committed to fight HIV and AIDS. As the
initial plan expired in the 2008 fiscal year,
Congress approved, and President George W.
Bush signed into law legislation that extended

42,983
2001
10,780
35,357
46,137
1999
13,105
47,056
60,161
1997
13,764
59,616
73,380
1995
16,824
89,165
105,990
1993
Year
Number of AIDS cases
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for
HIV/AIDS, Viral He
p
atitis, STD, and TB Prevention.
ILLUSTRATION BY GGS
CREATIVE RESOURCES.
REPRODUCED BY
PERMISSION OF GALE,
A PART OF CENGAGE
LEARNING.

Having HIV is not a sentence to remove oneself
from society. It does not limit a person’sphysical
or mental abilities. Only later, when symptoms
develop—as long as ten years from the time of
infection—does the disease become increasingly
debilitating. In any event, people who are HIV-
positive and AIDS-symptomatic are fully able to
work, play, and participate in daily life. Moreover,
their rights to do so are the same as anyone else’s.
The chief barrier to a productive life often comes
less from HIV and AIDS than from the fear,
SUSPICION, and open hostility of others. Because
HIV cannot be transmitted through casual
contact, U.S. law has moved to defend the
CIVIL
RIGHTS
of those individuals with the disease.
AIDS in the Workplace The workplace is a
common battleground. Many people with AIDS
have lost their jobs, been denied promotions,
or been reassigned to work duties that remove
them from public contact. During the 1980s this
discrimination was fought through lawsuits based
on older laws designed to protect the disabled.
Plaintiffs primarily used the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (29 U.S.C.A. § 701 et seq.), the earliest law of
this type. But the Rehabilitation Act has a limited
scope: it applies only to federally funded work-
places and institutions and says nothing about
those who do not receive government money.

is the issue of health care. In some cases, the two
overlap:
HEALTH INSURANCE, SOCIAL SECURITY, and
DISABILITY benefits for people with AIDS were
often hard to obtain during the 1980s. Insur-
ance was particularly difficult because employ-
ers feared rising costs, and insurance companies
did not want to pay claims. To avoid the costs of
AIDS, insurance companies used two traditional
industry techniques: they attempted to exclude
AIDS coverage from general policies, and they
placed caps (limits on benefits payments) on
AIDS-related coverage. State regulations largely
determine whether these actions were permissi-
ble. In New York, for example, companies that
sell general health insurance policies are for-
bidden to exclude coverage for particular
diseases. Caps have hurt AIDS patients because
their treatment can be as expensive as that for
cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. Insur-
ance benefits can be quickly exhausted—in fact,
AIDS usually bankrupts people who have the
disease. The problem is compounded when
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
72 ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME
employers serve as their own health insurers. In
McGann v. H&H Music Co., 946, F.2d 401 (5th
Cir. [1991]), a federal court ruled that such
employers could legally change their policies to
reduce coverage for workers who develop

Centinela Hospital, 57 U.S.L.W. 2034 (C.D.
Cal.), for example, an HIV-infected person with
no symptoms was excluded from a federally
funded hospital residential program for drug
and alcohol treatment because health care
providers feared exposure to the virus. The case
itself exposed the irrationality of such discrimi-
nation. Although its employees had feared HIV,
the hospital argued in court that the lack of
symptoms meant that the patient was not
disabled and thus not protected by the Rehabil-
itation Act. A federal trial court in California
rejected this
ARGUMENT, RULING that a refusal to
grant services based solely on fear of contagion
is discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act.
Other actions during the 1990s have relied
upon the ADA. In 1994 the U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE
reached a settlement in a lawsuit with the
city of Philadelphia that ensures that city
employees will treat patients with AIDS. The
first settlement in a health care–related ADA
suit, the case arose out of an incident in 1993,
when an HIV-positive man collapsed on a
Philadelphia street. Emergency medical workers
not only refused to touch him but told him to
get on a stretcher by himself. The man sued. In
settling the case, the city agreed to begin an

dentist’s professional
LIABILITY insurer, contend-
ing that it should have kno wn that Acer had
AIDS and effectively barred him from operating
by refusing to issue him a
MALPRACTICE insurance
policy. Bergalis’s claim was settled for $1
million. A second claim by Bergalis, against
the insurance company that recomme nded Acer
to her, was settled for an undisclosed amount.
SincetheBergaliscase,manyU.S.dentists,
physicians, and surgeons with AIDS have begun
disclosing their status to their patients. Faya v.
Almaraz, 329 Md. 435, 620 A.2d 327 (Md. 1993),
illustrates the consequences of not doing so. In
Faya th e court held that an HIV-positive doc tor
has the legal duty to disclose t his medical condition
to patients and that a failure to inform can lead to
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME 73
a NEGLIGENCE action, even if the patients have
not been infected by the virus. The doctor’spatient
did not contract HIV but did suffer emotionally
from a fear of having done so. The unanimous
decision held that patients can be compensated
for their fears. Although this case dealt specifical-
ly with doctor-patient relationships, others have
concerned a variety of relationships in which the
fear of contracting AIDS can be enough for a
PLAINTIFF to recover damages.

(EAHCA), but the law is only relevant in cases
involving special education programs. More
commonly, students’ rights are protected by
the Rehabilitation Act. Perhaps the most
important case in this area is Thomas v.
Atascadero Unified School District, 662 F. Supp.
376 (C.D. Cal. 1986), which illustrates how far
such protections go. Thomas involved an
elementary school student with AIDS who had
bitten another youngster in a fight. Based on
careful review of medical evidence, the U.S.
District Court for the Central District of
California concluded that biting was not proved
to transmit AIDS, and it ordered the school
district to readmit the girl. Similarly, schools
that excluded teachers with AIDS have been
successfully sued on the ground that those
teachers pose no threat to their students or
others and that their right to work is protected
by the Rehabilitation Act, as in Chalk.
Confidentiality relating to HIV is not
uniform in schools. Some school districts
require rather broad dissemination of the
information; others keep it strictly private. In
the mid-1980s the New York City Board of
Education adopted a policy that no one in any
school would be told the identities of children
with AIDS or HIV infection; only a few top
administrators outside the school would be
informed. The policy inspired a lawsuit brought

lesbians. In Congress lawmakers attached
amendments to appropriations measures (bills
that authorize the spending of federal tax
dollars) that mandate that no federal funds
may be used to “promote homose xuality.” In
response the CDC adopted regulations that
prohibit spending federal funds on AIDS
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
74 ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME
education materials that might be found offen-
sive by some members of certain communities.
Despite the controversy, some communities
have taken radical steps to halt the spread of
AIDS. In 1991 and 1992 the school boards of
New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Los
Angeles voted to make condoms available to
students in their public high-school systems.
AIDS and Private Life
Although epidemics are public crises, they begin
with individuals. The rights of people who have
AIDS and those who do not are often in
contention and seldom more so than in private
life. It is no surprise that people with HIV
continue having sex, nor is it a surprise that this
behavior is, usually, legal. Unfortunately, some
do so without knowing they have the virus. Even
more unfortunately, others do so in full knowl-
edge that they are HIV-positive but without
informing their partners. This dangerous behav-
ior has opened one area of AIDS law that affects

example, the Minnesota Court of Appeals
affirmed a trial court’s finding that the plaintiff
could not recover damages from her former
fiancé, who had unknowingly given her the virus.
State Legislation and the Courts To stem
transmission of HIV, states have adopted several
legal measures. Two states attempted to head off
the virus at the pass: Illinois and Louisiana at
one point required HIV blood testing as a
prerequisite to getting a
MARRIAGE license. Both
states ultimately repealed these statutes because
they were difficult to enforce; couples simply
crossed state lines to be married in neighboring
states. Several states have taken a less stringent
approach, requiring only that applicants for a
marriage license be informed of the availability—
and advisability—of HIV tests. More common-
ly, states criminali ze sexual behavior that ca n
spread AIDS. Michigan l aw mak es it a felony
for an HIV- or AIDS-infected person to engage
in sex without first informing a partner of
the infection. Florida law provides for the
prosecution of any HIV-positive person com-
mitting
PROSTITUTION,anditpermitsRAPE
victims to demand that their attackers undergo
testing. Indiana imposes penalties on persons
who recklessly or knowingly donate blood or
semen with th e knowledge that they are HIV-

GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME 75
HIV-infected prisoner found guilty of assault with a
deadly weapon —his teeth—for biting two prison
guards during a struggle. T eeth were also the subject
of a trial in Brock v. State, 555 So. 2d 285 (1989), but
the Alabama CourtofCriminal A ppeals refused to
regard them as a dangerous weapon. In State v.
Haines, 545 N.E. 2d 834 (2d Dist. 1989), the
Indi ana Court of Appeals affirmed a conviction
of attempte d
MURDER against a man with AIDS
who had slash ed his wrists to commit
SUICIDE;
when police officers and paramedics refused to
let hi m die, he began to spit, bite, scratch, and
throw blood.
Civil Litigat ion
TORT LAW has seen an explo-
sion of AIDS-related suits. This area of law is
Reading, Writing, and AIDS
T
eaching young people about AIDS is
an enormously popular idea. Since
the late 1980s, Gallup Polls have revealed
that over 90 percent of respondents think
public schools should do so. Agreement
ends there, however. In the 1990s more
angry debate focused on AIDS education
than on any issue facing schools since

the “sex ed.” debate, growing social
problems helped: rises in teen pregnan-
cies and sexually transmitted diseases
secured a place for more explicit school
health classes. The much greater threat of
AIDS pushed state legislatures into
action. By the mid-1990s AIDS preven-
tion classes had been mandated in at least
34 states and recommended in 14. But
the appearance of even more explicit
teaching has reinvigorated the sex ed.
debate.
Supporters of a comprehensive ap-
proach say AIDS demands frankness.
Originating in comprehensive sex ed.
theory, their ideas also came from
pacesetting health authorities such as
former
SURGEON GENERAL C. Everett Koop.
Arguing in the mid-1980s that AIDS
classes should be specific and detailed
and taught as early as kindergarten, Koop
countered conservative arguments by
saying, “Those who say ‘I don’t want
my child sexually educated’ are hiding
their heads in the sand.” This position
holds that educators are obligated to
teach kids everything that can stop the
spread of the disease. “What is the moral
responsibility?” Jerald Newberry, a

homosexually oriented curricula” and
“teaching
BUGGERY in the 3rd grade.” In
addition to voicing moral objections,
critics say comprehensive sex ed. is
generally a failure because it encourages
a false sense of security among teens
that leads to experimentation with sex or
drugs. “We have given children more
information presumably because we
think it will change their behavior, and
yet the behavior has gotten worse, not
better,” said Gary Bauer, president of the
Family Research Council.
Each side accuses the other of
deepening the crisis. Comprehensive
approach supporters think abstinence-
only backers are moral censors, indiffer-
ent to pragmatic solutions. The liberal
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
76 ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME
used to discourage individuals from subjecting
others to unreasonable risks and to compensate
those who have been injured by unreasonably
risky behavior. The greatest number of AIDS-
related liability lawsuits has involved the receipt
of HIV-infected blood and blood products.
A second group has concerned the sexual
transmission of HIV. A third group involves
AIDS-related psychic distress. In these cases,

The assumption was that since students
will have sex anyway—despite warnings
not to—they had better be protected.
Conservatives see this position as a cop-
out in two ways: it sells values short and
it undermines parental authority. In
1992, in Washington, D.C., critics
erupted over a decision by the Public
Health Commission to hand out con-
doms in junior and senior high schools
without parental consent. William
Brown, president of the D.C. Congress
of Parents and Teachers, complained:
“We are looking to build and reinforce
and establish family values where they
have been lost, and here we have an
agency of our government that totally
ignores those things we are working for.”
Dr. Mary Ellen Bradshaw, the commis-
sion’s chief, replied: “Our whole focus is
to save the lives of these children,
stressing abstinence as the only sure
way to avoid [AIDS] and making con-
doms available only after intensive
education.” In other cities, upset parents
simply sued. By 1992,
CLASS ACTION law-
suits had been brought against school
districts in New York City, Seattle, and
Falmouth, Massachusetts, arguing that

government is largely symbolic but no
less controversial. It is to guide school
efforts through advice, sponsorship, and
public speeches, and primarily involves
the offices of the surgeon general and of
the federal AIDS policy coordinator.
Koop, who was a Reagan appointee,
roused a fair degree of controversy, yet
it was nothing compared to the upheaval
that greeted statements by appointees of
the Clinton administration. AIDS policy
czar Kristine Gebbie and surgeon general
M. Joycelyn Elders were forced from
their posts after making statements that
conservatives found appalling—Gebbie
promoting attitudes toward pleasurable
sex and Elders indicating a willingness to
have schools talk about masturbation.
Thereafter, the administration frequently
stressed abstinence as its top priority for
school AIDS programs.
Problems surrounding AIDS educa-
tion are unlikely to go away. Communi-
ties frequently disagree on sex education
itself, and compromise is often difficult
on such a divisive issue of values. As the
experience of the Clinton administration
suggested, Washington, D.C., could easi-
ly exacerbate an already contentious
area, with policy coordinators becoming