Civil commitment + civil comp Flashcards
What are the differences between criminal and civil commitment?
1) Police power v. Parents patriae (punish v. Tx
2) Bx that triggers the intervention (the criminal act v. Future risk of harm)
3) Strictness of procedures (beyond a reasonable doubt v. Lax/clear and convincing
4) Length of intervention
What are 3 ways in which civil commitment was challenged in the 1970s?
1) Challenges to substantive and procedural criteria of state commitment laws
2) Challenges to institutional conditions (LRA, right to tx)
3) How tx was administered (forced v. Right to refuse tx)
What was the finding in O’Connor v. Donaldson?
That civil commitment required the presence of dangerousness. You can’t commit someone just bc they are SMI or to improve their living conditions.
What are the similarities between civil and criminal commitment?
Both allow confinement or mandated intervention bc of bx unacceptable to the community.
What factors facilitated deinstitutionalization
Antipsychotics being created, Kennedy’s community MH centers act, Medicare/Medicaid/SS, managed care.
What are the risks/disadvantages of commitment?
Stigma, increased risk of institutional dependency, loss of civil rights (marry, vote, driver’s license, have kids)
What was the finding in Addington v. Texas
For civil commitment, the standard of proof is clear and convincing.
Per Parham v. J.R., what 3 factors/issues should be considered in civil commitment?
Juvie case: (1) The minor’s interest in not being committed. (2) The state’s interest in the procedures for the commitment & tx of kids. (3) THe need for protection against arbitrary commitment decisions.
In the civil commitment context, what is the definition of a mental disorder?
An illness that is substantial and grossly impairing, including disturbances in cognitive and functional abilities.
What key elements are common across most civil commitment criteria and procedures?
Presence of a mental do, dangerousness (including grave d/a), medical competency, need for tx as prognosis poor w/o it. Commitment impermissible if least restrictive environment exists (e.g., outpatient commitment like Kendra’s Law in NY)
What was the finding in Zinermon v. Burch?
A hospital violated state law by admitting Burch as a voluntary patient when they knew or should have known that he was incompetent to give informed consent to his admission. Their failure to initiate Florida’s involuntary placement procedure denied him constitutionally guaranteed procedural safeguards (e.g., involuntary commit hearing that is designed to protect his due process and liberty).
What are the two stages of inpatient commitment?
Emergency admission and long-term commitment.
With emergency admissions, what 3 things does every state require for the individual to be told?
Length of confinement (72 hours), when the right to counsel becomes available, when they are entitled to a hearing.
With what rights is an individual entitled to in a long-term commitment proceeding?
Written notice of rights (reasons for it), right to counsel, right to call and cross-examine witnesses, right to request a jury trial, right to have a judge v. Clinician make the ultimate decision, and right to have the state prove its case by clear and convincing evidence.
What is the relevance of Morrissey v. Brewer when someone on outpatient commitment revocation and transfer to inpatient care?
SCOTUS said parolees had rights to revocation proceedings, including notice, confrontation, counsel, etc.
So the same logic and procedures to outpatient civil commitment in some jurisdictions. However, some states automatically hospitalize people, and allow them to challenge via habeus corpus.
What was the finding in Jones v. US?
NGRI patients are more dangerous and have an ongoing SMI that requires tx.
A verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity is sufficiently probative of mental illness and dangerousness to justify commitment of the acquittee for the purposes of treatment and the protection of society. Such a verdict establishes that the defendant committed an act constituting a criminal offense, and that he committed the act because of mental illness. Indefinite commitment of an insanity acquittee, based on proof of insanity by only a preponderance of the evidence, comports with due process.
What was the finding in Foucha v. Louisiana
Dangerousness alone is insufficient to keep someone committed.
Kansas v. Hendricks
A statute allowing civil commitment and long-term treatment of individuals convicted of sexually violent offenses who suffer from mental abnormalities or personality disorders that make them likely to continue to commit sexually predatory behavior is constitutional. It’s not double jeopardy, bc the focus is on tx, not retribution.
