Carl v. Children's Hospital, 702 A.2d 159 (1997)

Citation: Carl v. Children's Hospital, 702 A.2d 159 (1997)
Parent Document: Carl v. Children's Hospital, 702 A.2d 159 (1997)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 1997-09-23
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2395626/carl-v-childrens-hospital/ ↗

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I am aware that other courts have adopted public policy exceptions that are more expansive and based on broader foundations than ours. See Martin Marietta Corp. v. Lorenz, 823 P.2d 100, 106 & n. 3 (Colo.1992) (noting thirty-seven jurisdictions with some sort of public policy exception to the at-will doctrine). One court, for example, has defined “public policy” as “that principle of law which holds that no one can lawfully do that which tends to be injurious to the public or against the public good." Boyle v. Vista Eyewear, Inc., 700 S.W.2d 859, 871 (Mo.Ct.App.1985). But this definition illustrates just how nebulous the concept of public policy can be. What court can, with any reasonable degree of certainty, identify “the public good” or decide just what is “injurious to the public”? One person’s notion of public injury may well be another person’s societal good. Indeed, the very notion of “public policy” is often vague and exists primarily in the eye of the beholder. In general, I believe that courts should refrain from trying to determine or articulate public policy. Unless the issue to be decided directly affects the administration of justice or the judicial process, or the application of established legal principles, courts should generally abstain from making declarations of public policy. Such pronouncements should be left to the other branches of government, particularly the legislature, which is in a far better position than a court to make policy decisions on behalf of the citizenry.

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