About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1976 Wis. L. Rev. 503 (1976)
Civil Commitment in Wisconsin: The Impact of Lessard v. Schmidt

handle is hein.journals/wlr1976 and id is 521 raw text is: CIVIL COMMITMENT IN WISCONSIN: THE IMPACT OF LESSARD v. SCHMIDT* THoMAs K. ZANDERt This article's publication is contemporaneous with major revisions of the Wisconsin Mental Health Act, Wis. STAT. § 51.001 et seq. (1973), which codify and supplement the Lessard requirements. Law of July 29, 1976, ch. 430 [1975] Wis. Laws. Note that although the'commitment procedures are described in present tense, with citation to Wisconsin Statutes, the procedures and statutes may now be different or will change in the near future. The passage of the new civil commitment law, reinstatement of the Lessard decision, and media coverage have already had impact in this area of inherent flux. The old way involves accepting a set of assumptions that are without factual basis but which permits expeditious handling of the cases. Foremost on the list is the assumption that com- mitment for mental illness is a medical problem, not a legal problem. Therefore, since psychiatrists are the experts, their conclusions can be accepted without question. This fallacious assumption must be dispelled.1 -Dane County Judge P. Charles Jones Defense attorney: But I just wonder if we are dealing with just family emotional-type problems. And, it's a little difficult for me to understand how full-time inpatient hospitalization at this time would be the cure .... Court: I have the same feeling. However, I'm not expert in psychiatric matters. The experts have testified. My feelings are the same as yours, but I can't disregard the expert testi- mony.2 -Statement of a Milwaukee County judge before ordering the involuntary commitment of a 23-year-old woman, August 1974. In the past twenty-five years, as the American courts have increasingly recognized and enforced the constitutional rights of per- * Research for this study was facilitated by a grant from the Knapp Bequest Committee, Madison, Wisconsin. t J.D. candidate; B.A., 1975, University of Wisconsin. 1. Jones, A Review of Some ludicial Assumptions About Commitment, 1 FORUM 12-13 (1972) (publication of the Wisconsin Psychiatric Institute). 2. From the official transcript of a Milwaukee County civil commitment hearing held August 1974. 503'

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most