Mental Health Law Report articles from April 2006

Mental Health Law Report archives from April 2006

The proof is in the parity.(Slants & Trends)
April 1, 2006... A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine of insurance parity (see story, p. 46) can be used to disavow an underlying sentiment of parity opponents: that providing coverage for mental health and substance abuse services equal to other...

They won't go down quietly.(Slants & Trends)
April 1, 2006... It used to be that government-sponsored commissions met and issued a report that sat on a shelf until the next commission came along. The most prominent working group to break the mold has been the 9/11 Commission on the terrorist attacks; the...

Death penalty ruling reflects split on how to determine competency.(Rulings)
April 1, 2006... Abeokuto v. State, Feb. 13, 2006 Court of Appeals of Maryland No. 129, September Term 2004 The court threw out a death sentence because testimony about antipsychotic medication raised during the process of waiving a jury trial was not...

Failure to address basic needs could mean widespread liability.(Rulings)
April 1, 2006... Clark-Murphy v. Foreback, Feb. 6, 2006 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 439 F.3d 280, Nos. 05-1323/05-1394 Nearly a dozen staff members of a prison were found potentially liable in a prisoner's death when they saw evidence of serious...

Medicaid coverage of nursing services can be enforced, but eligibility cannot.(Rulings)
April 1, 2006... Watson v. Weeks, Feb. 8, 2006 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 436 F.3d 1152, No. 04-35704 A state can be liable for denying certain Medicaid benefits under one provision but not another, a three-judge panel ruled. The section of the...

Releasing old mental health records demands sensitivity, ruling suggests.(Rulings)
April 1, 2006... U.S. v. Mercado, Feb. 2, 2006 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Unpublished, No. 05-3035 A three-judge panel affirmed a district court's decision not to impose sanctions when the Bureau of Prisons failed to follow the court's order to...

Mental health testimony.(Briefly Noted)
April 1, 2006... State v. Cope, Feb. 2, 2006 Supreme Court of Idaho 129 P.3d 1241, Docket No. 32175 The improper use of a defendant's statements for the purposes of a competency examination did not render a plea agreement invalid, the court ruled. ...

Sex offender commitment.(Briefly Noted)
April 1, 2006... In Re Care and Treatment of Foster, Feb. 3, 2006 Supreme Court of Kansas 127 P.3d 277, No. 91324 The court reversed a decision finding a man eligible for involuntary commitment as a sexually violent predator because the prosecutor's...

Involuntary commitment.(Briefly Noted)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... In Re Jamie R. v. Consilvio, Feb. 9, 2006 Court of Appeals of New York 6 N.Y. 3d 138, No. 12 An insanity acquittee found to suffer from a dangerous mental disorder and placed in a secure facility cannot challenge that placement decision on...

Practice of dumping psych patients into nursing homes leads to suit.(New York)
April 1, 2006... A suit challenges the placement of hundreds, and possibly thousands, of New York residents with mental illness into nursing homes rather than into integrated community settings. The plaintiffs assert claims under the Americans with...

Suit dropped in light of promises to replace famous state hospital.(Oregon)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... A report recommends replacing the 122-yearold Oregon State Hospital that was the subject of a class-action lawsuit. The Oregon Advocacy Center alleged that patient safety was at risk because of overcrowding and low staff, but dropped its...

Ruling upholds extended commitment; governor signs expanded Megan's Law.(New York: Sex Offenders)
April 1, 2006... New York has won the latest battle to allow the civil commitment of sex offenders beyond their prison terms, while the governor and legislature continue to push tough legislation as well. The state Supreme Court's appellate division...

Ruling in Katie A.: Medicaid does cover wraparound, therapeutic foster care.(California: Foster Children)
April 1, 2006... The state must provide wraparound services and therapeutic foster care services under Medicaid, a federal judge ruled in a significant victory in a three-year-old class action suit. Judge A. Howard Matz granted a motion for a preliminary...

Liability, treatment issues broached in suit challenging university policy.(Washington, D.C.)
April 1, 2006... A former student has sued George Washington University under the Americans with Disabilities Act for forcing him to withdraw from the school after he sought treatment for depression related to his dormitory roommate's suicide. Legal...

Disability consortium opposes consent decree reform bill.(Legislative Update)
April 1, 2006... More than 30 members of the 100-member Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities sent a letter April 6 to the Senate Judiciary Committee asking it to oppose the Federal Consent Decree Fairness Act. The legislation, in the Senate as S. 489...

A new Senate Caucus on Mental Health Reform includes Democrats Ted Kennedy (Mass.) and Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Republicans Pete Domenici (N.M.) and Gordon Smith (Ore.).
April 1, 2006... A new Senate Caucus on Mental Health Reform includes Democrats Ted Kennedy (Mass.) and Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Republicans Pete Domenici (N.M.) and Gordon Smith (Ore.). The caucus was announced in conjunction with a Capitol Hill meeting of former...

Parity would reduce patient expenses but not overall cost, new study shows.(Resources)
April 1, 2006... Parity between physical and mental health benefits "can accomplish its objectives of greater fairness and improved insurance protection" without greater costs, new findings suggest. The results, in the March 30 New England Journal of Medicine,...

Criminalization.
April 1, 2006... CRIMINALIZATION--An online guide can help mental health organizations and others improve services for people with mental illness who come into contact with the criminal justice system. The Criminal Justice/Mental Health Advocacy Handbook...

Gimme an a?
April 1, 2006... GIMME AN A?--The National Alliance on Mental Illness has released its first report card of the states since 1990, and nobody received an A. Five states received grades in the B range, eight received Fs and the country as a whole received a D....

Weird law.(Minds on Trial: Great Cases in Law and Psychology)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2006... WEIRD LAW--A book, "Minds on Trial: Great Cases in Law and Psychology," looks at the "most psychologically intriguing legal cases" of the past 50 years. The authors, University of Buffalo law professor Charles Patrick Ewing and UB law grad...

ADA law enforcement guide.(Americans with Disabilities Act)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... ADA LAW ENFORCEMENT GUIDE--The Department of Justice has prepared a 2-page pocket guide for law enforcement officers about Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for communicating effectively with people who are deaf or hard of hearing....

Six states file amicus briefs in No Child Left Behind suit.(Disability Report)
April 1, 2006... The states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, along with the governor of Pennsylvania, an organization of school superintendents, and state and local officials in California, filed...

Kmart to pay $13 million in disability access suit.(Disability Report)
April 1, 2006... Kmart has agreed to provide comprehensive wheelchair access and other accommodations to persons with disabilities throughout their stores. The company made no admission of liability. U.S. District Court Judge John Kane in Denver gave...

SSA says disability applications will get more rapid approval.(Disability Report)(Social Security Administration)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The Social Security Administration has shortened the application and review process for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. The change could reduce from years to less than a month the approval of SSDI for...

Fed up with FedEx.
April 1, 2006... FED UP WITH FedEx--A federal jury has sided with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in finding the Federal Express Corp. liable for punitive damages for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. EEOC had charged FedEx with...

California suits.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... CALIFORNIA SUITS--Disability organizations are pleased that the state attorney general has withdrawn the controversial Opportunity to Repair Act from the November ballot. The proposal would have required written notice to a business about a...