Bell Ex Rel. Rubin v. Wayne County General Hospital

384 F. Supp. 1085
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedMay 31, 1974
DocketCivil Action 36384
StatusPublished
Cited by73 cases

This text of 384 F. Supp. 1085 (Bell Ex Rel. Rubin v. Wayne County General Hospital) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bell Ex Rel. Rubin v. Wayne County General Hospital, 384 F. Supp. 1085 (E.D. Mich. 1974).

Opinion

OPINION

FOX, Chief District Judge.

The plaintiffs in these consolidated actions seek summary judgment declaring unconstitutional and enjoining the operation of M.C.L.A. §§ 330.21 and 330.54 (M.S.A. §§ 14.811 and 14.844), 1 provisions which set forth the standards and procedures for the adjudication, involuntary civil commitment and treatment of persons alleged to be mentally ill.

These cases were brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, providing redress for the deprivation under color of state law, of rights, . privileges and immunities secured by the Constitution and laws of the land to all citizens and others within the jurisdiction of the United States. Jurisdiction is based upon 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3) and (4). The power to grant declaratory and further relief arises from 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202. With due regard for the substantial constitutional issues raised as grounds for enjoining these state statutes, the three-judge court was convened pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2281 and 2284.

Plaintiffs contend that certain procedures and standards which M.C.L.A. §§ 330.21 and 330.54 provide for the extended involuntary commitment and treatment of persons alleged to be mentally ill violate due process of law, and that to commit and treat such persons as permitted by these provisions amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Plaintiffs attack the validity of each provision on its face and not as applied to them in particular.

While the history of each plaintiff’s exposure to the Michigan civil commitment process is not at issue here, 2 we may note that both Annette Bell and Gloria Dalimonte have experienced the rigors of that system on repeated occasions. Although neither plaintiff has ever been finally adjudicated mentally ill they have been held for extended periods of time under temporary ■ orders. Throughout the proceedings by which they initially were confined, neither was informed of a right to counsel or to jury, although each eventually obtained free legal services without assistance from the detaining legal and medical authorities. Neither was told of the factual allegations upon which her commitment was based. Hearings were held at which plaintiffs were not present. During periods of confinement each plaintiff has been subjected to treatment against her will, plaintiff Bell to chemo or drug therapy, plaintiff Dalimonte to electroshock therapy. The nature of *1091 proceedings which lead to such instances of confinement, the forms of involuntary treatment allowed to be administered to persons so confined and the definition of “mental illness” which serves as a standard for commitment are subject of the present controversy.

I. The Civil Commitment Process.

The Michigan civil commitment scheme provides for three distinct forms of involuntary commitment. The first, which we may designate emergency detention, comprehends several alternative procedures set forth in M.C.L.A. § 330.-19 (M.S.A. § 14.809). These procedures function before commencement of formal commitment proceedings under M.C.L.A. § 330.21. In general they allow immediate apprehension and detention for periods of either 5 days or 48 hours, applying standards which require the presence of an element of danger to self or to others. 3 In no manner do plaintiffs challenge the constitutionality of these provisions.

The second form we shall term temporary commitment. This form comprehends two provisions of M.C.L.A. § 380.-21 which operate after commitment proceedings have been initiated but before a final adjudication of mental illness. Each allows detention for a period as long as 120 days; they may be invoked consecutively, producing a period of detention totalling 240 days without final adjudication. These provisions are central targets of attack.

The third form of commitment is indefinite commitment ordered after a final determination of mental illness, M. C.L.A. § 380.21. Plaintiffs do not challenge this ultimate phase of the process. However, since the commitment process is constructed as a single, all-embracing scheme, many of the procedural facets they attack are common to proceedings for both temporary and indefinite commitment, and the standard of commitment for mental illness informs, at bottom, determinations made in all phases of the process.

The relevant portions of M.C.L.A. §§ 330.21 and 330.54 are reproduced in the appendix.

II. Procedural Due Process: General Issues.

A. Initiation of the Process: Notice to Respondents.

Under M.C.L.A. § 330.21, the commitment process is initiated by a petition filed in probate court praying for an order of commitment, alleging that the individual sought to be committed is mentally ill and stating the facts upon which the allegation of mental illness is based. The petition may be filed by a family member, a guardian, certain local public officers, or any other person approved by the probate judge. When it receives such a petition, the court must schedule a date for the commitment hearing and appoint two physicians to examine the respondent and to file their report with the court at or before the hearing. Regarding notice to the respondent, the statute provides:

“Notice of such petition and of the time and place óf hearing thereon shall be served personally, at least 24 hours before the hearing, upon the person alleged to be so mentally diseased. ...” M.C.L.A. § 330.21. (Emphasis supplied.)

The statute at no point directs that the respondent be served the petition itself, *1092 or a copy thereof. Not having received the petition, the respondent remains unaware of the factual bases upon which his mental illness is alleged until the hearing is in progress.

In the case of In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967), the Supreme Court addressed the requirements of due process in the context of delinquency proceedings which, although denominated “civil,” held the prospect of incarceration in a state institution for juveniles adjudged delinquent. The Court held that, to comply with the mandate of due process, notice to the child and his parents must inform them of the specific allegations to be raised at hearing arid must be given at the earliest practicable time, in any event sufficiently in advance of the hearing to permit preparation. 387 U.S. at 33, 87 S.Ct. 1428.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In re G.G.
2017 VT 10 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 2017)
In re MH 2007-000629
197 P.3d 750 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2008)
In re MH 2006-000749
152 P.3d 1201 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2007)
Jenkins v. DIRECTOR OF VIRGINIA CENTER
624 S.E.2d 453 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 2006)
In re the Treatment of Mays
116 Wash. App. 864 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2003)
In re Perona
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1998
Matter of Perona
690 N.E.2d 1058 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1998)
In re Barbaba H.
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1997
People v. Barbara H.
680 N.E.2d 471 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1997)
People v. Dobben
488 N.W.2d 726 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1992)
In re Seman
3 N. Mar. I. 57 (Sup. Ct. of the Comm. of the N. Mariana Islands, 1992)
In re Duncan
3 N. Mar. I. Commw. 383 (Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Trial Court, 1988)
B.A.A. v. Chief Medical Officer, University of Iowa Hospitals
421 N.W.2d 118 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1988)
Project Release v. Prevost
722 F.2d 960 (Second Circuit, 1983)
Project Release v. Prevost
722 F.2d 960 (First Circuit, 1983)
Rush v. Johnson
565 F. Supp. 856 (N.D. Georgia, 1983)
Chill v. MISS. HOSP. REIMBURSEMENT COM'N
429 So. 2d 574 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1983)
Luna v. Van Zandt
554 F. Supp. 68 (S.D. Texas, 1982)
Benham v. Edwards
678 F.2d 511 (Fifth Circuit, 1982)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
384 F. Supp. 1085, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bell-ex-rel-rubin-v-wayne-county-general-hospital-mied-1974.