Citation

Player CT. Int. J. Law Psychiatry 2015; 38: 100-113.

Affiliation

Assistant Professor of Law, Northwestern University Law School, Philadelphia, PA, USA 19104. Electronic address: player@post.harvard.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ijlp.2015.01.013

PMID

25748886

Abstract

A large empirical literature on Kendra's Law has assessed the impact of court ordered outpatient treatment on outcomes such as treatment adherence, psychiatric hospitalization, quality of life, and treatment costs. Missing from the empirical literature, however, is a better understanding of procedural due process under Kendra's Law. Procedural due process concerns the safeguards that must be in place when governments deprive persons of their liberties, for example - notice, the right to a hearing and the right to appeal. This article reports the findings from a qualitative study of procedural due process and assisted outpatient treatment hearings under Kendra's Law. Attorneys reported significant barriers to effective advocacy on behalf of their clients. Further, despite the shift from a medical model of civil commitment to a judicial model in the 1970s, by and large judges continue to accord great deference to clinical testimony.

Language: en