In The Interest Of F.C. Iii,a Minor. Appeal Of F.C.,iii.

• Decision Date: 17 August 2010
• Citation: 2 A.3d 1201
• Parties: In the Interest of F.C. III, a Minor. Appeal of F.C., III.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

2 A.3d 1201

In the Interest of F.C. III, a Minor.

Appeal of F.C., III.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued Sept. 15, 2009.

Decided Aug. 17, 2010.

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Jennifer Kres Pokempner, Juvenile Law Center, William Roy Crum, Marsha Levick, for F.C., III.

Lynn Reddick, for Allegheny County Department of Human Services.

Zygmont A. Pines, Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, for Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

Thomas W. Corbett, Jr., and Kemal A. Mericli, for the Pa. Office of Attorney General.

BEFORE: CASTILLE, C.J., SAYLOR, EAKIN, BAER, TODD, McCAFFERY, GREENSPAN, JJ.

OPINION

Justice TODD.

We granted allowance of appeal in order to consider whether 71 P.S. § 1690.112a (“Act 53”) ¹ of the Pennsylvania Drug and Alcohol Abuse Control Act, ² which permits a parent or guardian to petition for civil involuntary commitment of their drug dependent child to a drug and alcohol treatment program, violates the due process protections provided by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. ³ For the reasons set forth below, we reject this constitutional challenge and hold that Act 53 does not violate our federal charter. Thus, we affirm the order of the Superior Court.

By way of background, C.K., Appellant F.C.'s grandmother, has had custody of Appellant since he was 4-years-old. In 2007, when Appellant was 14-years-old, Appellant's grandmother was attempting to deal with the challenges of Appellant's regular drug use, stealing, truancy from school, and his running away from home. Unable to maintain control of her grandson, and in an attempt to address this situation, on May 30, 2007, C.K. filed a petition pursuant to Act 53 to compel Appellant to receive drug and alcohol abuse treatment on an involuntary basis. That same day, the Honorable Guido A. DeAngelis of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Juvenile Court, entered a preliminary order appointing counsel for Appellant and ordered him to undergo a drug and alcohol assessment by a licensed drug addiction counselor. The juvenile court also directed Appellant to appear for a hearing scheduled for June 12, 2007, and required C.K. to provide Appellant with a copy of the petition and the order of the court.

Although it is not clear from the record, evidently, due to her inability to maintain control of Appellant, C.K. requested assistance in securing Appellant's attendance at the hearing on her petition. On June 12, 2007, Allegheny County Sheriff's deputies took custody of Appellant at his home and transported him to juvenile court for attendance at the hearing. The sheriff's deputies delivered Appellant to a secured area within the juvenile court facility, where he was held in an area which was not occupied by adults or other juveniles who were charged with delinquent activities. Appellant was interviewed by Josie Morgano, a certified addiction counselor, and was then taken to the courtroom.

At the hearing before Judge DeAngelis, Appellant's counsel raised the constitutionality of Act 53 with regard to the petition and assessment process as well as Appellant being shackled. After discussion of these preliminary matters, Morgano testified, inter alia, that Appellant told her that he smoked marijuana every day and sometimes used alcohol, and had been doing so for one year. Furthermore, Morgano offered that the 14-year-old had a history of outpatient mental health treatment, had been truant at school, had run away from home, had stolen money from his grandmother, and had been very difficult to contain in the home environment. This testimony was based upon Morgano's interview with Appellant as well as information provided by Appellant's grandmother.

According to Morgano, Appellant's diagnosis was cannabis dependence, and she did not believe it was possible to contain Appellant in the home environment and have outpatient assistance. She therefore recommended inpatient therapy for Appellant's drug dependence. Appellant's counsel cross-examined Morgano during the hearing.

Based upon this testimony, the juvenile court granted C.K.'s petition and ordered Appellant to receive inpatient treatment for marijuana dependency with a review scheduled within 45 days. Thereafter, Appellant was taken to an inpatient drug treatment facility. On July 10, 2007, Appellant filed a notice of appeal challenging the constitutionality of Act 53 and a motion for an evidentiary hearing, which was denied. Two weeks later, on July 24, 2007, the court conducted a hearing to review Appellant's commitment. After receiving evidence regarding the positive progress of Appellant's inpatient treatment, the juvenile court determined that it was in Appellant's best interest to remain committed to the same inpatient program for an additional two to three weeks.

On December 21, 2007, the juvenile court rendered an opinion supporting its prior decision to require Appellant to receive inpatient drug treatment and upholding the constitutionality of Act 53. Specifically, after recognizing the strong presumption that legislative actions do not offend the Constitution, the court noted that, while children share many constitutional protections afforded adults, it is the court's mandate to act in the best interest of the child. The court also noted that there is a difference between civil and criminal proceedings. In light of the dearth of caselaw analyzing Act 53, the juvenile court looked to the Mental Health Procedures Act (“MHPA”), 50 P.S. §§ 7101-7503. The court explained that, consistent with the purposes behind both statutes to immediately treat those suffering from medical maladies, both statutes provided sufficient due process protections. Based upon this reasoning, the court rejected Appellant's challenges to Act 53 and his treatment.

On appeal, a unanimous panel of the Superior Court, in an opinion authored by the Honorable Robert Colville, upheld the constitutionality of Act 53. In the Interest of: F.C., 966 A.2d 1131, 1137-38 (Pa.Super.2009). The court addressed Appellant's contentions that he was denied due process and his right to counsel when, based solely on the Act 53 petition, he was detained, subjected to an assessment in which, in order to test the allegations in the petition, he was compelled to divulge private information without being given notice and an opportunity to be heard; he was assessed without counsel present; he was denied due process by virtue of his restraint in shackles; and his right to counsel was infringed because, held in restraints, he could not communicate with counsel. Id. at 1133.

In resolving these challenges, the Superior Court, inter alia, turned to the involuntary commitment provisions of the MHPA for guidance. The court first examined Section 7302 of the MHPA, which allows a county administrator to issue a warrant requiring a person to undergo an involuntary emergency examination at a treatment facility and directing a peace officer to take such person to the facility specified in the warrant. The court observed the warrant may issue under Section 7302 upon reasonable grounds that the person is severely mentally disabled ⁴ and in need of immediate treatment. The court further referenced that, after he is transported to the specified facility, the person is subject to an examination by a physician. Depending on the results of the examination, the person is either discharged or treated. If treated, the person may not be held involuntarily for more than 120 hours unless, upon application, the trial court orders extended involuntary treatment. The Superior Court further detailed that, if an application for extended involuntary treatment is filed, the trial court then appoints counsel for the person, and, within 24 hours of the filing of the application, an informal hearing is held. The informal hearing may result in extended treatment which, at that point, may not exceed 20 days.

The Superior Court noted that the initial infringement of liberty, when the person is transported to a treatment facility, subjected to an involuntary assessment, and, then, a possible informal hearing for a 20-day period, takes place with minimal due process protections. Nevertheless, the Superior Court recognized that the process has been found to be constitutionally sound pursuant to our decision in In Re: J.M., 556 Pa. 63, 726 A.2d 1041 (Pa.1999), in light of the therapeutic/non-punitive intent and short duration of the Section 7302 procedures.

The court next compared the procedures of Sections 7302 and 7303 of the MHPA with those of Act 53 and highlighted their similarities. Among other things, the court referred to the likeness between the provision in Section 7302, calling for a warrant to be issued after reasonable grounds are presented to a court, and Act 53's provision calling for an order to be issued after “sufficient facts and good reason” are presented by petition to the court. 71 P.S. § 1690.112a(a). Additionally, the court explained, just as the MHPA provides increasing constitutional protections as the person is subjected to continuing and increased periods of commitment, Act 53 provides for ongoing hearings if the court wishes to recommit the minor to treatment.

In light of the foregoing, the Superior Court was persuaded that the MHPA and Act 53 “serve similar purposes through similar steps with similar constitutional protections.” In the Interest of: F.C., 966 A.2d at 1137. The court reasoned that, just as the MHPA survived constitutional scrutiny, so did Act 53. While recognizing that the legislative enactments were not mirror images, the Superior Court nevertheless found them to be sufficiently analogous to conclude that Act 53 was constitutional. Id. at 1137-38. The court explained that the procedures under Act 53 were fundamentally fair and provided constitutionally adequate protections for minors subject thereto, particularly given Act 53's important goal of...