Mental Health Law Report articles from December 2004

Mental Health Law Report archives from December 2004

Lawsuits 101.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A lawsuit against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for failing to take action to prevent a student's suicide could wind up in the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which has received considerable publicity already for its ruling on the...

Psych interview barred from testimony in absence of a mental health defense.
December 1, 2004... Gibbs v. Frank, Oct. 14, 2004 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 387 F.3d 268, No. 02-3924 The prosecution's mental health expert cannot testify on incriminating statements from an interview with the defendant if the defense attorney did...

Mental illness discrimination allowed when public safety is heart of the job.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... McKenzie v. Benton, Nov. 9, 2004 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 388 F.3d 1342, No. 02-8024 A requirement that a sheriff claiming discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act prove she does not pose a direct threat is not...

Sell applied for 'delusional defendant' challenging his involuntary medication.
December 1, 2004... U.S. v. Gomes, Oct. 25, 2004 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Docket No. 04-1004-cr In the first ruling of its kind since the precedent-setting involuntary medication case before the U.S. Supreme Court, the 2nd Circuit court found that...

Courts not bound to earlier finding of competence in light of evidence.
December 1, 2004... Maxwell v. Roe, Oct. 22, 2004 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 02-55143 Clear new evidence of incompetence to stand trial should be given precedence over an earlier formal determination that a defendant was competent, a three-judge...

Court to lift stay on death sentence; dissent: mitigating factors squandered.
December 1, 2004... Pizzuto v. Arave, Oct. 20, 2004 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 386 F.3d 938, 385 F.3d 1247, No. 97-99017 The court let a death sentence move forward in a case in which mental impairments were treated as aggravating rather than mitigating...

Defendants do not lack competence just because they say so, court rules.
December 1, 2004... U.S. v. Clark and Felix, Oct. 29, 2004 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Nos. 03-4156, 04-1429 Courts are not obligated to hold competency hearings for defendants who ask for them if the defendants show clear signs of competency in...

In Hinckley case, past is prologue: relationship looked at skeptically.
December 1, 2004... U.S. v. Hinckley, Nov. 24, 2004 Criminal No. 81-0306 (PLF) U.S. v. Weston, Nov. 22, 2004 Criminal No. 98-357 (EGS) U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia The court's refusal to allow John W. Hinckley Jr. to go on less restrictive...

Potential danger, not past behavior, guides involuntary medication order.
December 1, 2004... In Re E.T., Oct. 29, 2004 Supreme Court of Vermont 2004 VT 111, No. 2003-536 If stopping treatment would be particularly dangerous, good behavior while under a court order for involuntary treatment does not suggest the treatment can become...

Involuntary commitment.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENT Commonwealth v. DeBella, Oct. 14, 2004 Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts 442 Mass. 683, SJC 09237 Courts need not dismiss a petition to involuntarily commit a person if his attorney is responsible for a delay in...

Mental health defense.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... State v. Downs, Oct. 25, 2004 Supreme Court of South Carolina Opinion No. 25884 A defendant could not plead guilty and defer a claim of "guilty but mentally ill" (GBMI) while deciding whether to present evidence of mental illness, the...

Competence to stand trial.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Alston v. State, Oct. 14, 2004 Supreme Court of Florida 29 Fla. L. Weekly S 592, No. SC02-1904 The circuit court did not abuse its discretion by finding a defendant competent to proceed, despite conflicting expert testimony on whether he...

Disability claim.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Talley v. Barnhart, Oct. 18, 2004 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 04-1193 An administrative law judge (ALJ) did not err in denying benefits to a man with alcoholism by speculating that his mental impairments would improve as long as...

Disability claim: Strunk v. Barnhart, Oct. 13, 2004.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Strunk v. Barnhart, Oct. 13, 2004 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 03-5164 An administrative law judge (ALJ) need not consider a specific list of job duties before making a decision to reject an application for disability benefits,...

Involuntary commitment.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Perrelli v. Taylor, Oct. 20, 2004 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Docket No. 03-9070 A police officer reasonably found cause to believe that the person he was arresting had psychiatric disabilities and was dangerous to himself or others,...

Responsibility for care.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Ivona Health System v. Grandis, Nov. 5, 2004 Supreme Court of Virginia 603 S.E.2d 876, Record No. 040242 A circuit court did not have authority to adjudicate matters involving a man's involuntary commitment because that court's...

Provider liability.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... McCloskey v. Kane, Nov. 5, 2004 Supreme Court of Virginia 604 S.E.2d 59, Record No. 040264 Because a doctor was not directly employed by a hospital, he was not entitled to sovereign immunity from liability in the violent assault of a...

Downward departure.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... U.S. v. Miller, Nov. 8, 2004 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 04-4047 A defendant seeking downward departure could not invoke another statute to evade the limitations of the statute that would grant him a reduced sentence, a...

IDEA reauthorization becomes law; popular measure boosts enforcement.(Legislative Update)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... President Bush has signed a special education reauthorization bill that mental health advocates consider an improvement over existing law--and a major improvement over an earlier House version. The U.S. Department of Education will finally...

The U.S. Supreme Court.(Closing Argument)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... THE U.S. SUPREME COURT'S steady weakening of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has prompted a battle in Congress over what to do next. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.), a chief sponsor of ADA 14 years ago, is leading the...