Educator.
From the description of Reminiscences of David Rothman : oral history, 1968. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122481011
David J. Rothman was a professor of history and medicine at Columbia University in New York, N.Y. Following a 1972 expose', Rothman and his wife, Sheila M. Rothman, became involved in the apparent maltreatment and neglect of patients at the Willowbrook Developmental Center, a New York State operated mental health facility located on Staten Island, New York. The Rothmans became intimately involved in the case and in 1984 published "The Willowbrook Wars" a book that described the case in which the Willowbrook facility was closed and the patients relocated to other facilities or placed in the community. The community placement program was central to the case in that the court's decision involved a mandate to place residents of Willowbrook in community homes based on the opinions of mental health care professionals. The issue was whether the court had the right to issue such an order based on the opinion of professionals with little other substantive information.
From the description of Willowbrook Developmental Center case, research materials, ca.1971-1986. (New York State Library). WorldCat record id: 122519541