In re Torry G.

2014 IL App (1st) 130709, 16 N.E.3d 187
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided July 18, 2014·No. 1-13-0709·Unpublished·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

2014 IL App (1st) 130709

FIFTH DIVISION

July 18, 2014

No. 1-13-0709

In re TORRY G., Alleged to be a Person Subject to ) Involuntary Medication ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of (People of the State of Illinois, ) Cook County, Illinois.

)

Petitioner-Appellee, ) No. 2013 CoMH 142 v. )

) Honorable Torry G., ) David Skryd, ) Judge Presiding.

Respondent-Appellant). )

JUSTICE TAYLOR delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

Presiding Justice Gordon and Justice McBride concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

¶1 Respondent Torry G. appeals the trial court’s order that he be administered involuntary psychotropic medication.

¶2 Torry was hospitalized in January 2013 and diagnosed with bipolar disorder and psychosis. On March 7, 2013, the trial court entered an order authorizing the involuntary administration of psychotropic medication to Torry for a period of 90 days. Torry now appeals that order. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 Torry is a 21-year-old who has exhibited signs of mental illness for the past four years. He was admitted to Westlake Hospital on January 1, 2013, having consented to voluntary admission. On January 15, 2013, Torry’s treating psychiatrist, Dr. Richard Goldberg, filed a petition to involuntarily administer psychotropic medication to Torry pursuant to section 2-107.1 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code (Code) (405 ILCS 5/2-107.1 (West

2012)). The primary medications listed in the petition were Tegretol and Zyprexa, and the alternative medications were Depakote, fluphenazine hydrochloride, fluphenazine decanoate, Invega, Invega Sustenna, Haldol, and Haldol decanoate.

¶5 Prior to the hearing on the petition, Torry’s counsel filed a motion for a pretrial conference which stated the following:

“Respondent Torry G. has stressed to counsel that he would like to resolve this matter without a trial, and has requested that his treating psychiatrist (Dr. Goldberg) find the most appropriate medication to treat bipolar disorder with the least possible risk of side effects (Respondent has had side effects from the mood stabilizers Lithium and Depakote in the past).”

This motion was never ruled upon, and no pretrial conference was held.

¶6 At the hearing on the involuntary-medication petition, Dr. Goldberg testified that Torry was suffering from bipolar disorder, manic phase, with psychosis. He stated that Torry had been suffering from mental illness for the past four years. Over that time period, he had been hospitalized 20 to 25 times, 1 including 4 separate times between October 8, 2012, and January 1, 2013. Dr. Goldberg opined that Torry’s condition had deteriorated over time since April 2011, when he originally examined him. Regarding Torry’s most recent hospitalization, Dr. Goldberg testified that when he was brought to the hospital, he was in an “exacerbated manic state.” He stated that Torry’s mother described him as “a captive or a prisoner in his own head” and believed that he “desperately” needed to be hospitalized. He further stated, “[Torry’s mother]

1 Counsel for Torry objected to this statement by Dr. Goldberg on the basis of foundation,

but the objection was overruled.

was pleading with me to make sure [Torry] gets forced medication.” (Torry’s mother did not testify at the hearing.)

¶7 Dr. Goldberg then described Torry’s symptoms. He stated that Torry had “grandiose delusions,” such as the belief that the purpose of the hearing was to try Dr. Goldberg for “crimes against patients” and that once Torry testified against him, Dr. Goldberg would be sent to jail. While in the hospital, Torry had exhibited sexually provocative and inappropriate behavior, such as attempting to make eye contact with female peers, sending them love letters, and, on one occasion, hugging a female peer without permission. He also believed that he had powers to heal women sexually by touching them. In addition, he displayed impulsive, agitated, and aggressive behavior.

¶8 Dr. Goldberg testified that Torry had told him repeatedly that he did not have a mental illness. He stated, “Our sessions are mostly Torry turning things around and making it about me and how I’m the bad person and I do bad things.” As a result, Dr. Goldberg said, there was no opportunity to have therapeutic interaction about the behaviors that had caused his hospitalization.

¶9 Dr. Goldberg said that on several occasions, he had attempted to talk to Torry about the risks, benefits, and side effects of medication. However, “[i]t became apparent that he really just doesn’t understand the need for the medication and there’s no point in belaboring the matter.” Dr. Goldberg opined that Torry did not have the capacity to make a reasoned judgment about taking medication because he did not believe he had an illness and did not appreciate the deterioration he was exhibiting as a result of his illness.

¶ 10 According to Dr. Goldberg, Torry claimed to be willing to take medication voluntarily, but on multiple occasions when Dr. Goldberg suggested specific medications, Torry refused. Dr.

Goldberg stated that he believed that Torry was only willing to take medication with no side effects, and no such medication actually existed. For instance, three weeks prior to the hearing, Dr. Goldberg suggested to Torry that he take the drug Tegretol, a mood stabilizer used in the treatment of bipolar disorder (and one of the medications listed in the instant petition). Torry refused to take it, because he was concerned that the drug would cause him to have suicidal thoughts. Dr. Goldberg admitted that suicidal thoughts were a listed side effect of the drug, but he stated that they were a rare side effect and that if Torry experienced any suicidal thoughts, the medicine would be stopped at once. Nevertheless, Torry continued to refuse to take the drug. Dr. Goldberg concluded, “[Torry] has not been able to focus on the benefits. He can only focus on what he believes are the potential risks, which are often illogical or unfounded or – I think it serves his desire, as has been the case for years now, which is not taking medication.”

¶ 11 Dr. Goldberg further testified that in his opinion, less restrictive alternatives to forced medication, such as group therapy and psychotherapy, were not appropriate for Torry, because he had never responded to therapy in a constructive or successful way. He stated that Torry’s prognosis without medication was poor because he had displayed a pattern of progressive deterioration that Dr. Goldberg believed would continue, perhaps dangerously.

¶ 12 During cross-examination, counsel for Torry asked Dr. Goldberg about Invega and fluphenazine, two of the medicines that he sought to have administered to Torry. Dr. Goldberg admitted that Invega had not been approved for treatment of bipolar disorder. However, he said that Invega was the parent compound of the drug Risperdal, which was approved for treatment of bipolar disorder, “so there’s no reason Invega can’t be.” As for fluphenazine, Dr. Goldberg admitted that it was in the same category as the drug Thorazine, which Torry had been given during his time at Westlake. Torry’s Thorazine treatments had been discontinued because Torry

experienced orthostatic hypotension. 2 Dr. Goldberg stated that hypotensive side effects were “not uncommon” with Thorazine but would be rare with Fluphenazine.

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In re Torry G., 2014 IL App (1st) 130709, 16 N.E.3d 187 (Ill. Ct. App. 2014).

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