How Can I Be Involuntarily Committed in Mississippi?
Full Question:
Answer:
Please see the following MS statutes to determine applicability:
§ 41-21-102. Patients' rights.
(1) A patient has the right to be free from restraints. Restraints
shall not be applied to a patient unless the director of the treatment
facility or a member of the medical staff determines that they are
necessary for the safety of the patient or others. Each use of a
restraint and reason for such use shall be made part of the clinical
record of the patient under the signature of the director of the
treatment facility.
(2) A patient has the right to correspond freely without censorship.
The director of the treatment facility may restrict receipt of
correspondence if he determines that the medical welfare of the patient
requires it. Any limitation imposed on the exercise of patient's
correspondence rights and the reason for it shall be made a part of the
clinical record of the patient. Any communication which is not delivered
to a patient shall be immediately returned to the sender. No restriction
shall be placed upon correspondence between a patient and his attorney or
any court of competent jurisdiction.
(3) Subject to the general rules of the treatment facility, a patient
has the right to receive visitors and make phone calls. The director of
the treatment facility may restrict visits and phone calls if he
determines that the medical welfare of the patient requires it. Any
limitation imposed on the exercise of the patient's visitation and phone
call rights and the reason for it shall be made a part of the clinical
record of the patient. No restriction shall be placed upon a patient's
visitation at the treatment facility with or upon calls to or from his
attorney.
(4) A patient has the right to meet with or call his personal
physician, spiritual advisor, and counsel at all reasonable times. The
patient has the right to reasonable accommodation of religious practice.
(5) A patient has the right to periodic medical assessment. The
director of a treatment facility shall have the physical and mental
condition of every patient assessed as frequently as necessary, but not
less often than every six (6) months.
(6) A person receiving services under Sections 41-21-61 through
41-21-107 has the right to receive proper care and treatment, best
adapted, according to contemporary professional standards, to rendering
further custody, institutionalization, or other services unnecessary. The
treatment facility shall devise a written program plan for each person
which describes in behavioral terms the case problems, the precise
goals, and to modify the program plan as necessary. The program plan
shall be reviewed with the patient.
(7) Unless disclosure is determined to be detrimental to the physical
or mental health of the patient, and unless notation to that effect is
made in the patient's record, a patient has the right of access to his
medical records.
(8) A patient has the right to be represented by counsel at any
proceeding under Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107. The court shall
appoint counsel to represent the proposed patient if neither the proposed
patient nor others provide counsel. In all proceedings under
Section 41-21-61 through 41-21-107, counsel shall: (a) consult with the person
prior to any hearing; (b) be given adequate time to prepare for all
hearings; (c) continue to represent the person throughout any proceedings
under this charge unless released as counsel by the court; and (d) be a
vigorous advocate on behalf of his client.
(9) All persons admitted or committed to a treatment facility shall be
notified in writing of their rights under Sections 41-21-61 through
41-21-107 at the time of admission.
SECTION 1. Section 41-21-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as
follows:
41-21-65. If any person is alleged to be in need of treatment, any
relative of the person, or any interested person, may make affidavit of
that fact and shall file the affidavit with the clerk of the chancery
court of the county in which the person alleged to be in need of
treatment resides, posting with the clerk a reasonable sum not to exceed
Four Hundred Dollars ($400.00) for court costs in the premises if
financially able. The chancellor is authorized to immediately transfer
the cause of a person alleged to be in need of treatment from the county
where the person was found to the person's county of residence. The
affidavit shall be filed in duplicate. The affidavit shall set forth the
name and address of the proposed patient's nearest relatives, if known,
and the reasons for the affidavit. The affidavit must contain factual
descriptions of the proposed patient's recent behavior, including a
description of the behavior, where it occurred, and over what period of
time it occurred. Each factual allegation must be supported by
observations of witnesses named in the affidavit. Affidavits shall be
stated in behavioral terms and shall not contain judgmental or conclusory
statements.
§ 41-21-67. Person to be taken into custody; appointment
of examining physicians, or physician and psychologist,
nurse practitioner or physician assistant; appointment of
attorney; emergency patient status.
(1) Whenever the affidavit provided for in Section 41-21-65
is filed with the chancery clerk, the clerk, upon direction
of the chancellor of the court, shall issue a writ directed
to the sheriff of the proper county to take into his or her
custody the person alleged to be in need of treatment and to
bring the person before the clerk or chancellor, who shall
order pre-evaluation screening and treatment by the
appropriate community mental health center established under
Section 41-19-31 and for examination as set forth in
Section 41-21-69. However, when the affidavit fails to set
forth factual allegations and witnesses sufficient to
support the need for treatment, the chancellor shall refuse
to direct issuance of the writ. Reapplication may be made to
the chancellor. If a pauper's affidavit is filed by a
guardian for commitment of the ward of the guardian, the
court shall determine if the ward is a pauper and if the
ward is determined to be a pauper, the county of the
residence of the respondent shall bear the costs of
commitment, unless funds for those purposes are made
available by the state.
(2) Upon issuance of the writ, the chancellor shall
immediately appoint and summon two (2) reputable, licensed
physicians or one (1) reputable, licensed physician and
either one (1) psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician
assistant to conduct a physical and mental examination of
the person at a place to be designated by the clerk or
chancellor and to report their findings to the clerk or
chancellor. Provided, however, that any nurse practitioner
or physician assistant conducting the examination shall be
independent from, and not under the supervision of, the
other physician conducting the examination. In all counties
in which there is a county health officer, the county health
officer, if available, may be one (1) of the physicians so
appointed. Neither of the physicians nor the psychologist,
nurse practitioner or physician assistant selected shall be
related to that person in any way, nor have any direct or
indirect interest in the estate of that person nor shall any
full-time staff of residential treatment facilities operated
directly by the Department of Mental Health serve as
examiner.
(3) The clerk shall ascertain whether the respondent is
represented by an attorney, and if it is determined that
respondent does not have an attorney, the clerk shall
immediately notify the chancellor of that fact. If the
chancellor determines that respondent for any reason does
not have the services of an attorney, the chancellor shall
immediately appoint an attorney for the respondent at the
time the examiners are appointed.
(4) If the chancellor determines that there is probable
cause to believe that the respondent is mentally ill and
that there is no reasonable alternative to detention, the
chancellor may order that the respondent be retained as an
emergency patient at any available regional mental health
facility or any other available suitable location as the
court may so designate pending an admission hearing and may,
if necessary, order a peace officer or other person to
transport the respondent to that mental health facility or
suitable location. Any respondent so retained may be given
such treatment by a licensed physician as is indicated by
standard medical practice. However, the respondent shall not
be held in a hospital operated directly by the Department of
Mental Health, and shall not be held in jail unless the
court finds that there is no reasonable alternative.
(5) Whenever a licensed physician or psychologist certified
to complete examinations for the purpose of commitment has
reason to believe that a person poses an immediate
substantial likelihood of physical harm to himself or others
or is gravely disabled and unable to care for himself by
virtue of mental illness, as defined in Section 41-21-61(e),
then the physician or psychologist may hold the person or
the physician may admit the person to and treat the person
in a licensed medical facility, without a civil order or
warrant for a period not to exceed seventy-two (72) hours or
the end of the next business day of the chancery clerk's
office. The person may be held and treated as an emergency
patient at any licensed medical facility, available regional
mental health facility, or crisis intervention center. The
physician or psychologist who holds the person shall certify
in writing the reasons for the need for holding. Any
respondent so held may be given such treatment by a licensed
physician as indicated by standard medical practice. Persons
acting in good faith in connection with the detention of a
person believed to be mentally ill shall incur no liability,
civil or criminal, for those acts.
§ 41-21-69. Examination by physicians or physician and
psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant;
presence of attorney.
(1)(a) The physicians or physician and psychologist, nurse
practitioner or physician assistant so appointed shall
immediately make a full inquiry into the condition of the
person alleged to be in need of treatment and shall make a
mental examination and physical evaluation of the person,
and shall make a report and certificate of their findings of
all mental and acute physical problems to the clerk of the
court. The report and certificate shall set forth the facts
as found by the physicians or physician and psychologist,
nurse practitioner or physician assistant and shall state
whether or not the examiner is of the opinion that the
proposed patient is suffering a disability defined in
Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107 and should be committed
to a treatment facility. The statement shall include the
reasons for that opinion. The examination may be based upon
a history provided by the patient and the report and
certificate of findings shall include an identification of
all mental and physical problems identified by the
examination.
(b) If the physicians or the physician and psychologist,
nurse practitioner or physician assistant so appointed
finds: (i) the respondent is mentally ill; (ii) the
respondent is capable of surviving safely in the community
with available supervision from family, friends or others;
(iii) based on the respondent's treatment history and other
applicable medical or psychiatric indicia, the respondent is
in need of treatment in order to prevent further disability
or deterioration that would result in significant
deterioration in the ability to carry out activities of
daily living; and (iv) his or her current mental status or
the nature of his or her illness limits or negates his or
her ability to make an informed decision to seek voluntarily
or comply with recommended treatment; the physicians or the
physician and psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician
assistant so appointed shall so show on the examination
report and certification and shall recommend outpatient
commitment. The examining physicians or the physician and
psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant
shall also show the name, address and telephone number at
the proposed outpatient treatment physician or facility.
(2) The examinations shall be conducted and concluded within
forty-eight (48) hours after the order for examination and
appointment of attorney, and the certificates of the
physicians or the physician and psychologist, nurse
practitioner or physician assistant shall be filed with the
clerk of the court within that time, unless the running of
that period extends into nonbusiness hours, in which event
the certificate shall be filed at the beginning of the next
business day. However, if the examining physicians or the
physician and psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician
assistant is of the opinion that additional time to complete
the examination is necessary, and this fact is communicated
to the chancery clerk or chancellor, the clerk or chancellor
shall have authority to extend the time for completion of
the examination and the filing of the certificate, the
extension to be not more than eight (8) hours.
(3) At the beginning of the examination, the respondent
shall be told in plain language of the purpose of the
examination, the possible consequences of the examination,
of his or her right to refuse to answer any questions, and
his or her right to have his or her attorney present.
§ 41-21-71. Procedure after examination; release or
confinement pending hearing.
If, as a result of the examination, the examiners certify
that the person is not in need of treatment, the chancellor
or clerk shall dismiss the affidavit. If the chancellor or
chancery clerk finds, based upon the physicians' or the
physician and a psychologist's, nurse practitioner's or
physician assistant's certificate and any other relevant
evidence, that the respondent is in need of treatment and
that certificate is filed with the chancery clerk within
forty-eight (48) hours after the order for examination, or
extension of that time as provided in Section 41-21-69, the
clerk shall immediately set the matter for a hearing. The
hearing shall be set within seven (7) days of the filing of
the certificate unless an extension is requested by the
respondent's attorney. In no event shall the hearing be more
than ten (10) days after the filing of the certificate.
§ 41-21-73. Procedures for hearing; evidence; witnesses; commitment;
disposition and findings.
(1) The hearing shall be conducted before the chancellor. Within a
reasonable period of time before the hearing, notice of same shall be
provided the respondent and his attorney, which shall include: (a) notice
of the date, time and place of the hearing; (b) a clear statement of the
purpose of the hearing; (c) the possible consequences or outcome of the
hearing; (d) the facts that have been alleged in support of the need for
commitment; (e) the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the
examiner(s); and (f) other witnesses expected to testify.
(2) The respondent must be present at the hearing unless the chancellor
determines that the respondent is unable to attend and makes that
determination and the reasons therefor part of the record. At the time of
the hearing the respondent shall not be so under the influence or
suffering from the effects of drugs, medication or other treatment so as
to be hampered in participating in the proceedings. The court, at the
time of the hearing, shall be presented a record of all drugs, medication
or other treatment that the respondent has received pending the hearing,
unless the court determines that such a record would be impractical and
documents the reasons for that determination.
(3) The respondent shall have the right to offer evidence, to be
confronted with the witnesses against him and to cross-examine them and
shall have the privilege against self-incrimination. The rules of
evidence applicable in other judicial proceedings in this state shall be
followed.
(4) If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the
proposed patient is a mentally ill or mentally retarded person and, if
after careful consideration of reasonable alternative dispositions,
including, but not limited to, dismissal of the proceedings, the court
finds that there is no suitable alternative to judicial commitment, the
court shall commit the patient for treatment in the least restrictive
treatment facility that can meet the patient's treatment needs. Treatment
prior to admission to a state-operated facility shall be located as
closely as possible to the patient's county of residence and the county
of residence shall be responsible for that cost. Admissions to
state-operated facilities shall be in compliance with the catchment areas
established by the Department of Mental Health. A nonresident of the
state may be committed for treatment or confinement in the county where
such person was found.
Alternatives to commitment to inpatient care may include, but shall not
be limited to: voluntary or court-ordered outpatient commitment for
treatment with specific reference to a treatment regimen, day treatment
in a hospital, night treatment in a hospital, placement in the custody of
a friend or relative or the provision of home health services.
For persons committed as mentally ill or mentally retarded, the initial
commitment shall not exceed three (3) months.
(5) No person shall be committed to a treatment facility whose primary
problems are the physical disabilities associated with old age or birth
defects of infancy.
(6) The court shall state the findings of fact and conclusions of law
that constitute the basis for the order of commitment. The findings shall
include a listing of less restrictive alternatives considered by the
court and the reasons that each was found not suitable.
(7) A stenographic transcription shall be recorded by a stenographer or
electronic recording device and retained by the court.
(8) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, neither
the Board of Mental Health or its members, nor the Department of Mental
Health or its related facilities, nor any employee of the Department of
Mental Health or its related facilities, unless related to the respondent
by blood or marriage, shall be assigned or adjudicated custody,
guardianship, or conservatorship of the respondent.
(9) The county where a person in need of treatment is found is
authorized to charge the county of such person's residence for the costs
incurred while such person is confined in the county where such person
was found.
§ 41-21-76. Waiver of rights by respondent.
The respondent in any involuntary commitment proceeding held pursuant
to the provisions of sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107 may make a
knowing and intelligent waiver of his rights in such proceeding, provided
that the waiver is made by his attorney with the informed consent of the
respondent and with the approval of the court. The reasons for the waiver
shall be made a part of the record.
