In Re The Detention Of: B.r.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 3, 2024
Docket57563-9
StatusUnpublished

This text of In Re The Detention Of: B.r. (In Re The Detention Of: B.r.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re The Detention Of: B.r., (Wash. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

Filed Washington State Court of Appeals Division Two

January 3, 2024

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION II In the Matter of the Detention of No. 57563-9-II

B.R., UNPUBLISHED OPINION Appellant.

CRUSER, J. — BR was involuntarily committed based on a civil conversion following the

dismissal of his charges of assault in the second degree and felony malicious harassment. BR

appeals a trial court order extending his involuntary commitment for an additional 180 days of

mental health treatment. BR argues that the trial court erred by finding that his request to proceed

pro se was not made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. He also argues that the State failed

to prove that he was gravely disabled and that there was not an appropriate less restrictive

alternative (LRA) placement. Three hearings were held in this matter: one regarding BR’s motion

to proceed pro se, one regarding the State’s petition for an extension of 180 days of involuntary

treatment, and one regarding BR’s motion for revision of the trial court’s findings and order

granting the State’s petition.

We hold that (1) the trial court acted within its discretion in finding that BR did not make

a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver of his right to counsel; (2) the trial court’s finding of

grave disability is supported by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence, and; (3) even if the trial

court erred in finding BR to be gravely disabled, the involuntary commitment should still be No. 57563-9-II

affirmed because the trial court properly found that there was a substantial likelihood that BR

would repeat the criminal conduct that formed the basis of the criminal charges that led to the

commitment order. Finally, we decline to address BR’s assertion that the evidence did not support

a finding that an LRA placement was not in his best interest, because he presents no argument

related to this issue.

FACTS

I. CRIMINAL CASE & DISMISSAL OF CHARGES

BR is 34 years old and has schizoaffective disorder. In 2017, BR was charged with assault

in the second degree and felony malicious harassment pertaining to an incident between BR and

his father. Both charges were classified as domestic violence. Because BR was found to be

incompetent to stand trial and unlikely to be restored to competency, the charges were dismissed

without prejudice and BR was admitted to Western State Hospital (WSH). The initial commitment

hearing was held in May 2018, at which point the court “made a special finding that the underlying

offense was a violent offense under RCW 9.94A.030.” Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 34. The felony

charges were dismissed, and BR remained “in custody pursuant to RCW 71.05.280(3) and as a

result of a behavioral health disorder continue[d] to present a substantial likelihood of repeating

acts similar to the charged criminal behavior.” Id. This latest admission was BR’s fifth admission

to WSH since 2011.

II. PETITION FOR EXTENDING INVOLUNTARY TREATMENT

In August 2022, WSH doctors petitioned the superior court for an additional 180 days of

involuntary treatment for BR. The doctors, Peter Bingcang, M.D., and Rosario Archer, Ph.D.,

2 No. 57563-9-II

alleged in their petition that BR remained gravely disabled under RCW 71.05.020(25)(b), and was

not ready for an LRA to involuntary treatment at WSH.1

In a previous petition to extend BR’s involuntary treatment, WSH doctors reported that BR

“continued to be symptomatic,” exhibited unstable mood, as well as “somatic delusions, poor

insight, and judgment, and had poor attendance and participation in treatment.” Id. at 5-6. In

August 2019, BR’s symptoms appeared to improve when he was transferred to a different ward.

However, by April 2020, his condition reportedly worsened according to observations during an

annual psychiatric evaluation. The evaluation indicated that BR had begun talking to himself,

pacing frequently, and was refusing his medication. Treatment records indicated that BR “was not

attending to his hygiene, responding to internal stimuli throughout the day and exhibiting acute

symptoms of his mental health disorder.” Id. at 7. By June 2021, WSH staff were concerned that

BR presented a danger to others, and a “forced medication order was approved on [September 10,

2021].” Id. Hospital records indicated that BR “continued presenting auditory hallucinations,

emotional dysregulation, impaired judgement, lack of insight and disorganized thinking,” and he

exhibited violent and aggressive behavior towards staff. Id.

In the current petition, Dr. Bingcang and Dr. Archer outlined BR’s lack of progress towards

treatment goals. When asked to provide his age and place of birth, BR “indicated having two

different places of birth with two different dates of birth. He stated that one is in Portugal . . . and

his second place of birth is New Hampshire.” Id. at 9. Additionally, during the exam, BR reportedly

1 The legislature has amended RCW 71.05.020 multiple times since the time of BR’s commitment, but these amendments did not affect the portion of the statute relevant to this case; therefore, we cite to the current version. See LAWS OF 2023, ch. 433, § 3; LAWS OF 2023, ch. 425, § 20; LAWS OF 2022, ch. 210, § 1.

3 No. 57563-9-II

exhibited “a massive flow of delusional thinking, [and] irrational thoughts with grandiose

perception of reality.” Id. at 10. BR made statements about having “a huge house,” “lots of money

in the bank,” and a girlfriend in Delaware whom he claimed to visit often and have a “ ‘pretty

steady relationship’ ” with. Id. According to the doctors, none of these statements were true. The

doctors also reported that BR’s “judgment is impaired. . . . [b]ased on his descriptions about how

he would manage reality, he appears to lack the capacity to make appropriate decisions to respond

in an assertive manner in social situations.” Id. Additionally, BR indicated that he did not believe

his diagnosis and thought that he would not need to continue taking medications once he was

discharged. He is described by WSH staff as a “ ‘flight risk [with a] history of aggressive and

assaultive behavior,’ ” which includes numerous incidents of making racist and derogatory

statements towards hospital staff. Id. at 11.

Although BR remained polite, cooperative, and calm during the exam, the doctors

maintained in their petition that BR requires continued treatment at WSH because his “overall

behavioral status remains dysregulated, grounded by mood symptoms of his schizoaffective

disorder . . . [h]e has caused several assaultive incidents towards staff . . . [and] lack[s] volitional

control leading him to aggression toward people.” Id. at 16. The doctors opined that if BR were

discharged to an LRA, he “would be at an increased likelihood of repeating similar acts to those

of the index offense due to mental illness.” Id. at 17.

III. PRELIMINARY HEARING: BR’S MOTION TO PROCEED PRO SE

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