Civil Commitment of T.W. v. St. Vincent Hosp. & Health Care Ctr., Inc.

• Decision Date: 21 November 2018
• Docket Number: Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-MH-1148
• Parties: In the Matter of the Civil Commitment of T.W., Appellant-Respondent, v. ST. VINCENT HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CARE CENTER, INC., Appellee-Petitioner
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

113 N.E.3d 1257

In the Matter of the Civil Commitment of T.W., Appellant-Respondent,

v.ST. VINCENT HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CARE CENTER, INC., Appellee-Petitioner

Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-MH-1148

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

Filed November 21, 2018

Attorney for Appellant: Joel M. Schumm, Indianapolis, Indiana

Attorneys for Appellee: Andrew B. Howk, Matthew M. Schappa, Indianapolis, Indiana

Altice, Judge.

Case Summary

[1] T.W. appeals the trial court's order for involuntary temporary commitment. He argues that the order is defective because it lacked the trial judge's signature and contained only the signature of a commissioner. Additionally, T.W. contends that there was insufficient evidence to support his temporary commitment.

[2] We affirm.

Facts & Procedural History

[3] T.W. is an intelligent young man in his late twenties who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia since 2013. T.W. does not accept this diagnosis but has participated in treatment and taken anti-psychotic medication at times. When properly medicated, T.W. is "very friendly, very engaging, [and] amiable". Transcript at 17. He is not aggressive and "does very well when he's on his medication." Id. at 20.

[4] A little over a year before the commitment hearing, T.W. was living with his mother until an incident occurred where he physically attacked her. T.W. was not taking his medication, and he became angry with his mother following a minor vehicle accident. He blamed her for distracting him while driving. When she responded and grabbed his hand, T.W. choked her and brought her to the ground. The police were called, and T.W. was taken to jail. No criminal charges were pursued against T.W., but he was taken before the court and ordered to take his medication. For the next eleven months, T.W. took his medication and attended outpatient treatment at Aspire. T.W. lived with his paternal grandmother, and his father (Father) regularly took him to treatment during this time.

[5] In December 2017, T.W. unilaterally decided to stop taking his medication. According to Father, T.W. eventually became more reclusive and withdrawn and was easily agitated. T.W. stopped attending treatment. His paranoid behaviors increased, and he made multiple reports to the FBI, including that a friend was a member of ISIS. In March 2018, T.W. left a note at the local library warning that a bomb or chemical weapon might be in the area. Local law enforcement and the FBI had multiple interactions with T.W.

[6] On or about March 22, 2018, T.W. told Father that he was going to kill him, which then resulted in a physical altercation. Father took the threat seriously and observed that T.W. expressed it with "more maliciousness" than prior threats. Id. at 20. The police were called, and T.W. was brought by police to the emergency department at St. Vincent Hospital.

[7] T.W. was admitted to St. Vincent Stress Center between March 22 and 29, 2018. His treating psychiatrist, Erika Cornett, M.D. (Dr. Cornett), found T.W.'s diagnosis of schizophrenia to be evident. She noted his multiple contacts with the FBI and his delusional beliefs. T.W., however, continued to refuse to accept this diagnosis. Upon his discharge on March 29, T.W. refused to take his prescribed anti-psychotic medications. He did agree, however, to attend outpatient treatment at Aspire and take medication for anxiety.

[8] On April 12, 2018, T.W. and Father had a meeting with members of the FBI. T.W. was warned by the FBI that his continued false reports could result in criminal charges. Father scheduled an emergency appointment at Aspire that same day. At this appointment, T.W. became threatening and aggressive toward staff.

[9] As a result of T.W.'s threatening behavior, a physician with Aspire filed an application for T.W.'s emergency detention on April 12, 2018. The physician's emergency statement indicated, regarding the immediacy of the danger, that T.W. "has been non compliant with medications, is actively hallucinating, is extremely paranoid and exhibits extreme mood lability and potential for violence." Appendix at 19. The emergency detention was judicially authorized, and T.W. was admitted to Community North Behavioral Health on the afternoon of April 12, 2018.

[10] T.W. was apparently transferred the following day to St. Vincent Stress Center¹ and again treated by Dr. Cornett. Although T.W. exhibited paranoid delusions, he was not aggressive or agitated with Dr. Cornett. T.W. denied experiencing hallucinations, which had been reported by hospital staff. T.W. continued to reject his diagnosis, believing that he only suffers from OCD and anxiety. He took three doses of Risperdal, an anti-psychotic drug, but then refused to take any more due to the side effects, including extreme drowsiness.

[11] On April 17, 2018, St. Vincent Stress Center filed a petition for the temporary mental health commitment of T.W. In her physician's statement, Dr. Cornett opined that T.W. suffers from a psychiatric disorder, i.e., schizophrenia. In her professional opinion, Dr. Cornett also indicated that T.W. presents a substantial risk of harm to others and is, therefore, dangerous. Specifically, she noted that T.W. had threatened to kill Father and that Father is fearful of his safety if T.W. were released. Dr. Cornett also indicated that T.W. had acted threatening toward a therapist at the outpatient clinic. Dr. Cornett recommended a temporary commitment to the St. Vincent Stress Center.

[12] Commissioner Kelly M. Scanlan presided over the commitment hearing held on April 20, 2018, at which Dr. Cornett, Father, and T.W. testified. Dr. Cornett testified, among other things, that it was her professional opinion that T.W. was a potential danger to others. In this regard, she noted his refusal to take anti-psychotic medication and his resulting aggressive behavior. Specifically, she referenced his recent behavior at Aspire, his "several altercations" with Father, and reports that T.W. had threatened to "put a bullet in [Father's] head." Id. at 9. Dr. Cornett indicated a concern for "dangerousness and violence" if T.W. was released without the needed treatment. Id. at 12. Father echoed the same fears: "I mean ... the key is I just don't want it to get to a situation where he might actually hurt someone. Or hurt himself." Id. at 22. He emphasized that T.W. needs to be medicated and testified that T.W. "is in complete denial that he even has a problem". Id. Indeed, T.W. testified that he "fully disagree[d]" with his schizophrenia diagnosis and stated that he was "perfectly fine" when he stopped taking his medications. Id. at 25, 29.

[13] At the conclusion of the hearing, Commissioner Scanlan expressly found by clear and convincing evidence that T.W. suffers from a mental illness and that he is both a danger to others and gravely disabled. Thus, Commissioner Scanlan granted the temporary commitment. On the same date, Commissioner Scanlan signed the written order for temporary commitment. T.W. filed a notice of appeal from this order on May 14, 2018.

Discussion & Decision

Defective Order

[14] We initially address T.W.'s claim that the order for temporary commitment is defective because it contains only the signature of Commissioner Scanlan and lacked the required judge's signature. Indeed, at the time the order was issued, Indiana law expressly barred Commissioner Scanlan from entering a final appealable order in this case. See Ind. Code § 33-23-5-8 ;² Capehart v. Capehart , 771 N.E.2d 657, 662 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002) ("magistrates and commissioners have identical authority").

[15] Regardless, T.W. has waived appellate review of this issue because he did not object to the commitment order at any point prior to this appeal. " ‘[I]t has been the long-standing policy of [the Indiana Supreme Court] to view the authority of the officer appointed to try the case not as affecting the jurisdiction of the court’ – and so ‘the failure of a party to object at trial to the authority of a court officer to enter a final appealable order waives the issue for appeal.’ " In re Adoption of I.B. , 32 N.E.3d 1164, 1173 n.6 (Ind. 2015) (quoting Floyd v. State , 650 N.E.2d 28, 32 (Ind. 1994) ); see also City of Indianapolis v. Hicks , 932 N.E.2d 227, 231 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) ("defects in the authority of a court officer, as opposed to jurisdiction of the trial court itself, to enter a final order will be waived if not raised through a timely objection"), trans. denied . "[A]ny objection to the authority of an adjudicative officer must be raised at the first instance the irregularity occurs, or at least within such time as the tribunal is able to remedy the defect." Hicks , 932 N.E.2d at 231.

[16] In Hicks , this court held that the appellant had waived a claim of error by failing to timely object to an order signed by a magistrate but not a judge. Id. We noted that the appellant called the trial court's attention to the error well after the deadline for ruling on the motion to correct error had expired. Id. In other words, the appellant "fail[ed] to challenge at the first instance an irregularity apparent on the face of the order" and "failed to raise the issue until a point when the trial court could no longer correct the error by issuing an amended order bearing the trial judge's signature." Id. Here, T.W. likewise failed to timely object to the order that was signed by only Commissioner Scanlan.³ We, therefore, conclude that he has waived the issue for our review.⁴

Sufficiency of the Evidence

[17] On review, we look to the evidence most favorable to the trial court's decision and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom. In re Commitment of J.B. , 766 N.E.2d 795, 799 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002). Thus, we will not reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of witnesses. Civil Commitment of J.B. v. Community Hosp. N. , 88 N.E.3d 792, 795 (Ind. Ct. App 2017). "If the trial court's commitment order represents a conclusion that a reasonable person could have drawn, the order must be...