In re the Mental Commitment of W.W.

592 N.E.2d 1264, 1992 Ind. App. LEXIS 917, 1992 WL 125089
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 10, 1992
DocketNo. 67A04-9104-CV-97
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 592 N.E.2d 1264 (In re the Mental Commitment of W.W.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re the Mental Commitment of W.W., 592 N.E.2d 1264, 1992 Ind. App. LEXIS 917, 1992 WL 125089 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinions

SHARPNACK, Judge.

W.W. appeals the trial court’s order committing her because she suffers from mental illness and is gravely disabled. We affirm.

W.W. presents two issues for review, which we combine and restate as whether there was sufficient evidence to support the court’s finding that W.W. was mentally ill and gravely disabled.

The evidence most favorable to the court’s decision reveals that on January 1, 1991, thirty-seven year-old1 W.W. was hitchhiking along the interstate when a minister stopped and asked her if she needed a ride. Responding that she did, W.W. and the minister rode together as far as Greencastle, Indiana. Once in Greencastle, the minister stopped at a gas station and called the police.

Responding to the minister’s call, the police delivered W.W. to a doctor at Putnam County Hospital. Upon seeing W.W.’s condition, the doctor requested that a mental health worker evaluate W.W. After the evaluation, W.W. was detained at Putnam County Hospital on an emergency basis and was transported later that evening to Methodist Hospital.

Once at Methodist Hospital, W.W. was examined by Dr. Debra Marshino. Determining that W.W. suffered from a psychiatric disorder and that she was gravely disabled, Dr. Marshino reported that W.W. was in need of custody, care or treatment in an appropriate facility, either Central State Hospital or Madison State Hospital. On January 7, the Putnam Circuit Court ordered W.W.’s continued pre-hearing detention and set a hearing date for January 10. Following the hearing, the court found that W.W. was suffering from a psychiatric disorder, that she was gravely disabled as a result of her disorder, and that she was unable to care for herself or receive treatment or care without court intervention. The court therefore ordered that W.W. be committed to Central State Hospital for a period of time to be determined by that institution.

We begin our analysis by stating that in order to support a commitment the petitioner must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the person in question is both:

1. mentally ill and
2. gravely disabled or dangerous.

I.C. § 16-14-9.1-3.

A person is “mentally ill” within contemplation of the statute if the person has

a psychiatric disorder that substantially disturbs an individual’s thinking, feeling, or behavior and impairs the individual’s ability to function. The term includes any mental retardation, alcoholism, or addiction to narcotics or dangerous drugs.

I.C. § 16-14-9.l-l(a).

A person is “gravely disabled” if the person has a condition

in which [the] individual, as a result of mental illness, is in danger of coming to harm because the individual:
(1) Is unable to provide for that individual’s food, clothing, shelter, or other essential human needs; or
(2) Has a substantial impairment or an obvious deterioration of that individual’s judgment, reasoning, or behavior [1266]*1266that results in the individual’s inability to function independently.

1.C. § 16-14-9.l-l(b).

We deal with the review of a case decided on a “clear and convincing” standard as we do with a case decided on a “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard. Miller Brewing Co. v. Best Beers of Bloomington, Inc. (1991), Ind.App., 579 N.E.2d 626. When we review the evidence supporting such a judgment, we may neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses. Washington v. State (1982), Ind., 441 N.E.2d 1355, 1358. Where the evidence is in conflict, we are bound to view only that evidence which is most favorable to the judgment of the trial court. Id. If there is any substantial evidence supporting the judgment, we must affirm. Hutchinson v. State (1985), Ind., 477 N.E.2d 850.

A review of the evidence reveals that there is sufficient evidence to support the trial court’s judgment that W.W. is both mentally ill and gravely disabled. Dr. Marshino testified that W.W. suffers from bipolar disorder, which is an illness characterized by two primary features. The first primary feature consists of potentially rapidly shifting mood disorders ranging from overly friendly or euphoric to irritable and easily agitated. The second primary feature consists of mood disturbances so severe that a person suffering from the illness has difficulty functioning in either employment or interpersonal relationships.

During her stay in the hospital, W.W. has most frequently exhibited irritable and easily agitated mood disorders along with impaired relationships. For example, W.W. was at times threatening with, and threw things at, the hospital staff, and she ended most of her discussions with Dr. Marshino by screaming at the doctor and leaving the room by slamming the door.2 Other features of the illness that W.W. exhibited during her hospital stay included pressured speech, flight of ideas, an inability to clearly construct thought processing, and distracted thinking so severe at times that communication with W.W. was difficult.

Dr. Marshino’s recommended treatment plan for W.W. included continued hospitalization until W.W.’s symptoms stabilized and treatment with medication, with the drug of first choice being lithium. Dr. Marshino testified that she expected to see W.W. calming somewhat after being maintained in a structured environment for a period of time but that, absent treatment with medication, no major improvements, no improved functioning, and no resolution of W.W.’s symptoms could be expected.

At her hearing, W.W. testified on her own behalf. During direct examination, W.W. stated the following:

A. Well I went to, from Pennsylvania I went to Ohio and then I, I just walked into the State of Indiana, just touched the State of Indiana and they brought me here.
Q. I’d like to ask you about that, you were just walking ...,
A. Umhmm.
Q. uh, and hitchhiking, is that right?
A. Well some man stopped ...,
Q. stopped ...,
A. I did not ask him for a ride. This man was in the car and he stopped his car and asked me if I needed a ride. I said yes so he, he drove me as far as, uh, this is Greencastle?
Q. Right.
A. To Greencastle and walked into a gas station, and, and, I mean pulled up into a gas ..., say he was going to go into the gas station, get gas, and I told him I would wait right there. I was not in the driver’s seat. The man had the keys in his hand, he walked into the gas station, he took so long that I went in [1267]*1267there to find out what took him so long. And I suspect that if I hadn’t of walked in that gas station at that specific time before the police officer arrived there, at that gas station, that man might have tried to have said I stole the, his vehicle.
$ & 5}t * * *
Q.

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Related

In Re the Commitment of Golub v. Giles
814 N.E.2d 1034 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2004)
In Re WW
592 N.E.2d 1264 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1992)

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592 N.E.2d 1264, 1992 Ind. App. LEXIS 917, 1992 WL 125089, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-mental-commitment-of-ww-indctapp-1992.