Little is published in the medical literature on the topic of "status epilepticus in the law courts." I carried out a search of all case reports available internationally, via the World Legal Information Institutes and member sites (http://www.worldlii.org), covering appeal court, international, and case-law/law reform cases from around 1980 onward, using the term "status epilep." Twenty-eight case reports featuring status epilepticus (SE) were reviewed from Canada (10), the UK (9), Australia (5), and the USA (3), together with a single case from the Philippines. No cases were identified from Asia, Hong Kong, Kenya, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, or South Africa. Reports from other countries (and 3 of 10 Canadian reports) were not in English and thus not reviewed. Of 25 cases reviewed, SE was mentioned but I considered them not material to the principal issues in 17 cases. This included 3 of 78 cases reported separately as part of the Australian Royal Commission into aboriginal deaths in custody, although it is notable in itself that almost 4% of the deaths occurred in individuals with a history of epi-lepsy/SE. A further UK case (Toth v Jarman, UK Civil Appeal Court, 2006), is also worth comment as one which has led to a standard disclosure statement now recommended for experts with respect to potential conflicts of interest.
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