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The Never-Never Land of Mental Health Law: A Review of Legal Rights of Youth Committed by Their Parents to Psychiatric Facilities in California

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I. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND REASONS FOR RISE IN PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALIZATION

The minors who are most frequently inappropriately hospitalized are described as "trouble makers," status offenders, or beyond parental control.3 These children are classified by California Welfare and Institution section 601 (hereinafter § 601). Pursuant to this provision minors who violate truancy, curfew or runaway laws, or who are disobedient or unruly, may become wards of the court.4 When this happens, a minor is supervised by a juvenile probation officer either within the home or in an unlocked out-of-home placement facility. Prior to the enactment of § 601, these minors could be placed in a locked juvenile hall by their parents or the police. Both before and after the enactment of the § 601 system, parents with appropriate insurance or financial resources have been able to place their children in locked psychiatric hospitals. Recently, however, hospitalization has become a burgeoning practice.5 A number of possible

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The Case of the Confidential Confession: Psychiatry

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The law, medicine, and theology trilogy uniting these Essays, addressing the ethical response to information a professional gains in confidence about a wrongful conviction and an impending execution, raises an overarching question: How does the role of a professional affect our ethical duties as members of society? Likely, few would seriously argue that if the same disclosure about an impending wrongful execution were made to a friend wearing no professional garb that we would find an ethical duty to prevent the friend from disclosing a confidence, rather than an ethical duty compelling the friend to come forward to avoid the wrongful execution. Does the role of a professional displace personal moral standards? Implicit in the problem is the assumption that professionals should act differently. Attempts to articulate a profession's sense of its unique ethical responsibilities are contained, in part, in its ethical code. Psychiatric ethics draw from the field of medical ethics...

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The Case for Excluding the Criminal Confessions of the Mentally Ill

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I. INTRODUCTION

Edgar Allen Poe ends his thrilling story, "The Tell-Tale Heart," with a madman's confession, a plot device that provides the story with appropriate closure: the murderer is caught and justice can take place. At its endpoint, the story no longer holds secrets, for we can imagine the rest. The "dreadfully nervous" narrator will be tried in court for killing an old man because of the old man's "pale blue eye, with a film over it" (555). He had "loved" the old man (555), but the "vulture eye" had made the narrator "furious" and had "chilled the very marrow in [his] bones" (557). The confession and the dismembered body beneath the planks will provide the jury with incontrovertible proof of the narrator's guilt, and he will be sentenced to the gallows. Yet, even in fiction, a confession is not as simple as it may appear....

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Sexual Violence Surveillance Uniform Definitions And Recommended Data Elements

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INTRODUCTION

The Problem of Sexual Violence

Sexual violence (SV) is a profound social and public health problem in the United States. The range of experiences that pertain to SV is broad and affects females and males across the lifespan. As will be covered in more detail to follow, SV includes both penetrative and non-penetrative acts as well as non-contact forms. Sexual violence occurs when a perpetrator commits sexual acts without a victim’s consent, or when a victim is unable to consent (e.g., due to age, illness) or refuse (e.g., due to physical violence or threats). According to the

National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS):1 • 1 in 5 women and nearly 1 in 59 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime, defined as penetrating a victim by use of force or through alcohol/drug facilitation; • Approximately 1 in 15 men (6.7%) reported that they...

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Fired Cartridge Case Ejection Patterns From Semi-Automatic Firearms

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Abstract

During testimony, “experts” often cite that spent cartridge case ejection locations from a semi-automatic firearm indicate the location of the shooter based on the assumption that most spent cartridge cases land to the right and rear of the shooter. The authors of this study investigated whether spent cartridge case ejection locations are an accurate indicator of a shooter’s location. Eight different semi-automatic weapons most frequently used by police officers were used to collect data from eleven different shooting positions. The results highlighted the significant inconsistency of the spent cartridge case ejection locations that occurred across test positions even when several factors including firearm type, firearm position, and ammunition were accounted for. Of 7,670 bullets fired, over 25 percent of the spent cartridge casings landed somewhere other than to the right and rear of the shooter where it is commonly accepted they should land. That pattern inconsistency is significant...

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U.S.C.A. Const. Amend. XIV, § 1-Due Proc Section 1. Due process of law

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Civil Rights Acts, construction with federal laws

Law of case doctrine did not prevent district court from reconsidering previous denial of qualified immunity to § 1983 defendants in action brought by hazardous waste disposal contractor alleging due process violation in connection with 26-month suspension of contractor's ability to contract with state, as issue addressed was different from issue previously addressed; in prior denial of qualified immunity, issue was right to prompt postdeprivation hearing when right to dobusiness with state had been suspended by state without predeprivation hearing, whereas instant issue was whether contractor's admitted failure to request hearing waived right to hearing or consequence of some state action or inaction amounting to constitutional deprivation. Waste Conversion, Inc. v. Sims, D.N.J.1994, 868 F.Supp. 643. Courts 99(6)

---- Fourth Amendment, construction with other constitutional provisions Arrestee who died in police custody was not a “person at liberty,” but a pretrial...

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Road to Recovery: Employment and Mental Illness

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INTRODUCTION

Individuals with mental illness are a diverse group of people, with a wide range of talents and abilities. They work in all sectors of the U.S. economy, from the boardroom to the factory floor, from academia to art. Employment not only provides a paycheck, but also a sense of purpose, opportunities to learn and a chance to work with others. Most importantly, work offers hope, which is vital to recovery from mental illness. Our nation must invest in vocational strategies that work. The good news is that there are a number of effective supported employment programs. However, despite approximately $4 billion annually in federal funding for supported employment, employment rates for people with mental illness—which were abysmal to begin with—have declined even more over the last decade. This distressing trend is attributable to a number of factors. For example, many state vocational rehabilitation programs...

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209 Cal.App.3d 1303 Court of Appeal, First District, Division 2, California. Eleanor RIESE, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER, Defendant and Respondent.

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As Modified on Denial of Rehearing Jan. 15, 1988. Involuntary mental health patient brought petition for writ of mandate, on behalf of herself and others similarly situated, seeking determination that patients' informed consent was required before antipsychotic drugs could be administered. The Superior Court, City and County of San Francisco, Raymond D. Williamson, Jr., J., denied the writ. On appeal, the Court of Appeal, Kline, P.J., held that absent judicial determination of incompetency, involuntary mental health patient's informed consent would be required before treatment with antipsychotic drugs.

[1] Mental Health Persons subject to control or treatment

Person is considered civilly “gravely disabled,” and may be involuntarily detained in mental health facility for 72 hours, if peace officer or one of certain specified professionals finds probable cause that person is danger to self or others, or as result of mental disorder, is unable to provide for his basic personal needs of food, clothing or shelter. West's Ann.Cal.Welf. & Inst.Code §§ 5008(h) (1), 5150

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Retaliatory Homicide: Concentrated Disadvantage and Neighborhood Culture

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Much of the research on violent crime is situated within an exclusively structural or subcultural frame-work. Some recent work, however, argues that these unidimensional approaches are inherently limited and thatmore attention needs to be given to the intersection of structural and cultural determinants of violence. Thepresent study takes up this challenge by examining both structural and cultural in uences on one underexam-ined type of homicide: retaliatory killings. Using quantitative data to examine the socioeconomic correlates andecological distribution of homicide in St. Louis, Missouri, and narrative accounts of homicide incidents, we Ž ndthat a certain type of homicide (what we call “ cultural retaliatory homicide” ) is more common in some neigh-borhoods than in others due to the combined effects of economic disadvantage, neighborhood cultural responsesto disadvantage, and problematic policing. Problems confronting residents of these communities are oftenresolved informally— without calling the police—and neighborhood cultural codes support this type of...

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Representing Clients Held Against Their Will In Mental Hospitals

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An attorney can make a difference in the life of a client under an involuntary hold In California, the mentally ill may be held for a limited period of time for treatment against their will if their mental illness causes them to be dangerous to themselves or others or leaves them “gravely disabled.” The Lanterman Petris Short Act, codified at Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 5100 et seq., permits the police to arrest, and doctors to confine, a person against his or her will for treatment of a mental disorder. One of the purposes of the act is to prevent the indefinite involuntary commitment of mentally disordered persons. Forced confinement in a mental institution is a denial of the fundamental right of clients to physical liberty, something that is guaranteed to all citizens of the United States. As the U.S. Supreme Court reasoned in its opinion in O'Connor..

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Need Drugs, Will Travel?: The Distances To Crime Of Illegal Drug Buyers

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Abstract Available online xxxx Purpose: This study examines distances to crime among illegal drug buyers while controlling for buyer, drug, and destination characteristics.

Methods: Geocoded arrests for drug buyers in an urban municipality, over a three year period, spatially identify major drug markets. Negative binomial regression is used to model compositional characteristics of drug arrestees and contextual effects of markets on distance to arrest (n=4,082).

Results: Trip distance to drug purchase arrest varies by drug market. Being white, and having prior contact with the criminal justice system correlated with longer trip distances. Additional compositional effects vary by drug type.

Conclusions: In line with prior journey to crime research and crime pattern theory, illicit drug buyers are arrested in close proximity of their homes. Future research should consider the extent to which short aggregate market distances reflect policing differentials and close social ties...

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Professional Athlete Disability Insurance – Petersen …

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Whether participating in a team sport or an individual sport, Professional Athletes’ careers expose themselves to countless possible injuries, and illnesses. A minor disability may become career-ending for a professional athlete. With the risk so high, most insurers will not underwrite disability insurance plans for athletes. Petersen International Underwriters provides high limit coverage for professional athletes to financially protect against temporary and/or permanent disabilities. Each sport has unique underwriting challenges as incomes may come from a variety of sources including team contracts, signing bonuses, endorsements and purse winnings. Each sport commands unique contract features including guaranteed income to a player. Some contracts are fully guaranteed while others allow the team to waive the contract as they see fit. A variety of flexible solutions are available to protect a professional athlete’s.

Types of Coverage

Draft Protection

Young athletes have pursued lifelong commitments to reach the big leagues in their respective sports. Before a...

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Race, Gender, And The Newsworthiness Of Homicide Incidents

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Introduction

It is nearly impossible to escape crime imagery in the news media. Scholars have found that crime is generally a staple of news programming, comprising from 10 to 50 percent of all news stories (Chermak, 1995; Ericson, Baranek, & Chan, 1991; Graber, 1980; Klite, Bardwell, & Salzman, 1997; Maguire, Sandage, & Weatherby, 1999; Yanich, 2005). In addition, not all crime is presented similarly by the news media. In particular, research has consistently shown that crime is distorted in favor of uncommon events (Chermak, 1995; Ericson et al., 1991; Fishman, 1980; Gans, 1979; Tuchman, 1973). This same research has generally found that violent crimes such as homicides, for instance, are overrepresented while minor, more common crimes are ignored or de-emphasized. Consequently, research examining media coverage of crime, particularly homicide, has increased in recent years (Buckler & Travis, 2005; Johnstone, Hawkins, & Michener, 1995; Lundman, 2003; Paulsen, 2003; Peelo, Francis,...

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The Psychology of Power and Evil: All Power to the Person? To the Situation? To the System?

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To understand anti-social behavior by individuals, which includes violence, torture and terrorism, I endorse a greater reliance on situational variables and processes than has been traditional in psychology. The dominant dispositional orientation, embedded in a psychology of individualism, focuses on internal factors that people bring into various situations, such as genetic, personality, character, and pathological risk factors. While this perspective is obviously important to appreciating the integrity of individual functioning, it is vital to add an appreciation of the extent to which human actions may come under situational influences that can be quite powerful. Those influences have not been fully recognized within psychology or society in trying to explain unusual or “evil” behaviors, such as that of the abuses of Iraqi prisoners by United States military police guards at Abu Ghraib Prison. How one understands the root causes of such behaviors then impacts treatment and prevention strategies. This view has...

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Understanding Risk Of Homicide Among Mental Health Patients

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When we contemplate the association between violence and mental health, caution is warranted before we make assumptions or generate opinions, because of the stigma of violence in mental health; the vast majority of people suffering from mental health difficulties are not violent. Unfortunately, inaccurate beliefs about violence and mental health lead to stigma and even discrimination.

In The Lancet Psychiatry, Cathryn Rodway and colleagues examine the characteristics of a national case series of victims of homicide across England and Wales, specifically the characteristics of homicide victims who were mental health patients. One of the most striking findings of this study is the fact that mental health patients are twice as likely to be victims of homicide than are people in the general population. Furthermore, a third of patient victims were killed by another mental health patient. These findings raise the question as to why these rates were increased in this population. In particular, which factors (both individual and within relationships) put mental health patients at increased risk? Although findings from this study will improve awareness of potential...

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Acute Opioid Withdrawal Precipitated by Blood Transfusion in a 21-Year-Old Male

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To the Editor:

Cancer patients can be among the most challenging groups in which to maintain pain control. At our institution, many cancer patients are managed with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) opioids, sometimes on an outpatient basis. These patients frequently undergo multiple surgeries as well as courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and, as a result, often require multiple blood product transfusions. According to the American Association of Blood Banks standard,1 blood transfusions should not be co-administered with any intravenous drugs or fluids apart from 0.9% sodium chloride. For many cancer patients, it is difficult or impractical to establish additional intravenous access solely for blood product administration, and therefore, the practice at our institution has been to disconnect any current intravenous infusion for the duration of blood product transfusion. Here, we describe a case of severe opioid withdrawal after disconnection of intravenous hydromorphone PCA and initiation of a blood transfusion....

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