Mental Health Law Report articles from July 2005

Mental Health Law Report archives from July 2005

The first change.(Slants & Trends)
July 1, 2005... THE FIRST CHANGE in the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court in more than a decade will resonate in mental health legal circles. Outgoing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was a swing justice on critical cases involving the Americans with Disabilities...

O'Connor was unpredictable.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... O'CONNOR WAS UNPREDICTABLE until the very end. In June 2003, she wrote the majority opinion in Wiggins v. Smith, 123 S.Ct. 2527, finding that trial counsel was inadequate for failing to conduct a reasonable investigation into the defendant's...

John Roberts, Jr.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... JOHN ROBERTS, JR., President Bush's pick to replace O'Connor, successfully represented the Toyota Motor Manufacturing company in the ADA suit against it. This would seem to bode poorly for future ADA suits after Roberts, a conservative, joins...

O'Connor's legacy: Strickland defined ineffective assistance for a generation.(The Changing Supreme Court)
July 1, 2005... In a sense, Sandra Day O'Connor's stamp is on every case in which a person with mental illness appeals a conviction citing his trial counsel's failure to adequately pursue evidence of his background. In 1984, she wrote the majority opinion in...

Revisiting new mental health evidence seen as not according proper 'respect'.(Supreme Court)
July 1, 2005... Bell v. Thompson, June 27, 2005 U.S. Supreme Court 125 S. Ct. 2825, No. 04-514 The U.S. Supreme Court split 5-4 against a man claiming that a more adequate investigation of his mental illness would have spared him the death...

Depression defense found inadequate for failure to register as sex offender.
July 1, 2005... People v. Sorden, June 23, 2005 Supreme Court of California 36 Cal. 4th 65, S120677 A leftover ruling from a controversial new federal judge demonstrates the relative ranking of mental illnesses that many justices apply. ...

Sex-offender commitment challenges subject to habeas rule for prisoners.
July 1, 2005... Huftile v. Miccio-Fonseca, June 10, 2005 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 410 F.3d 1136, No. 03-16734 Challenges to a sexually violent offender commitment fall under a rule that requires challenges to be dismissed if a judgment in...

Court splits on involuntary commitment of suicidal man with vague diagnoses.
July 1, 2005... In Re Mental Health of D.S., June 14, 2005 Supreme Court of Montana 2005 MT 152, No. 734 The district court properly found that a man who expressed suicidal intent should be civilly committed, but failed to consider alternative...

Ineffective assistance of counsel.(Case Briefs)
July 1, 2005... Smith v. Dretke, June 8, 2005 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Unpublished, No. 03-20326 A death row inmate had standing to bring a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel but could have done more for his own case, the court...

Involuntary commitment.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... In Re M.C., June 1, 2005 Supreme Court of Vermont 2005 VT 60 The court found adequate evidence in the record that the state carried its burden of clear and convincing proof that M.C. needed to be involuntarily committed. M.C....

Alternative treatment.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... In Re R.F.; North Dakota State Hospital v. R.F., June 2, 2005 Supreme Court of North Dakota 2005 ND 102, No. 20050148 A state hospital is not obligated to seek alternative hospitals in other states if a psychiatric patient...

Competence to plea.(Case Briefs)
July 1, 2005... U.S. v. Muriel-Cruz, June 15, 2005 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 02-2075 The court rejected an inmate's claim that he was not competent to enter a guilty plea because his condition deteriorated after prison officials...

Sex offender registration.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Doe v. Moore, June 6, 2005 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 410 F.3d 1337, No. 04-10279 The court rejected constitutional claims against Florida's registration of sex offenders, which is published on the Internet. The Sex...

Sex offender commitment.(Case Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Shivaee v. Commonwealth; Butler v. Commonwealth, June 9, 2005 Supreme Court of Virginia 613 S.E.2d 570, Record Nos. 041954 & 041945 The court ruled Virginia's Sexually Violent Predators Act is as constitutional as the other...

Voluntariness of plea.(Case Briefs)
July 1, 2005... Page v. State, June 13, 2005 Supreme Court of South Carolina Opinion No. 26000 A lack of awareness about South Carolina's Sexually Violent Predators Act does not render a guilty plea involuntary, the court ruled. Joseph Page...

Insanity v. intoxication defense.(Case Briefs)
July 1, 2005... People v. Garcia, June 13, 2005 Supreme Court of Colorado 113 P.3d 775, Case No. 03SC675 Insanity and involuntary intoxication are entirely different defenses, and insulin-induced hypoglycemia is eligible as a defense only under...

Expert testimony.(Case Briefs)(mental health law)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Elledge v. State, June 9, 2005 Supreme Court of Florida 30 Fla. L. Weekly S 429, No. SC03-1201, SC04-998 Defendants are not eligible for post-conviction relief just because they must rely on mental health experts with conflicting...

Bills curtailing federal habeas review put sweeping restrictions on appeals.(Legislative Update)
July 1, 2005... Congress has moved forward on legislation that would seriously limit federal habeas appeals for death row inmates, a vital means for defendants to show that their mental illness makes them not culpable enough to die. The Streamlined...