When a family has requested the termination of life-sustaining treatments for their vegetative relative, the state may constitutionally oppose this request if there is a lack of evidence of a clear earlier wish by said relative. Decided June 25, 1990 (argued December 6, 1989). Opinion of the Court: William Rehnquist → go there Dissenting: Brennan, Stevens. Applied: the Ninth Amendment → go there Applied: the Fourteenth Amendment → go there Topic: End of life. Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, 497 U.S. 261 (1990), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States involving a young adult incompetent. The first "right to die" case ever heard by the Court, Cruzan was argued on December 6, 1989, and decided on June 25, 1990. In a 5–4 decision, the Court affirmed the earlier ruling of the Supreme Court of Missouri and ruled in favor of the State of Missouri, finding it was acceptable to require "clear and convincing evidence" of a patient's wishes for removal of life support. A significant outcome of the case was the creation of advance health directives. Wiki link