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11 J.L. & Pol'y 313 (2002-2003)
Is Kendra's Law a Keeper - How Kendra's Law Erodes Fundamental Rights of the Mentally Ill

handle is hein.journals/jlawp11 and id is 319 raw text is: IS KENDRA'S LAW A KEEPER? HOW KENDRA'S LAW ERODES FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE MENTALLY ILL Erin O'Connor* INTRODUCTION In 1999, New York enacted legislation mandating involuntary outpatient commitment for mentally ill individuals with a history of noncompliance with treatment who are unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision.' Outlining an Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) program that includes intensive community-based treatment under the court-ordered supervision of a team of mental health professionals, the law, commonly known as Kendra's Law, was passed in response to the tragic death of Kendra Webdale.2 Ms. Webdale was killed when an individual with a long history of mental illness pushed her onto the New York City subway tracks in front of an oncoming train.3 Her death raised questions about the efficacy of * C.S.W.; Brooklyn Law School Class of 2004; M.S.S.W., Columbia University, 1998; B.A., American University, 1996. The author would like to thank her friends, colleagues at The Legal Aid Society - Capital Division, the staff of the Journal of Law and Policy and her family for their support and encouragement. A special thanks to her husband Brian for his unending love, support, patience and cooking and cleaning. N.Y. MENTAL HYG. LAW § 9.60 (McKinney 2002). See also infra Part I.B (discussing Kendra's Law and outlining additional eligibility requirements). 2 § 9.60. See also discussion infra Part I.B (describing AOT in detail). 3 See, e.g., Maggie Haberman et al., Woman, 32, Is Pushed to Her Death in Subway Horror, N.Y. POST, Jan. 4, 1999, at 4; Bill Sanderson, Horror on the Tracks: Woman Killed in Subway Nightmare, Pushed from Platform by 313

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