J.S., In Interest of

• Decision Date: 15 March 1996
• Docket Number: No. 960043,960043
• Citation: 545 N.W.2d 145
• Parties: In the Interest of J.S. Robert N. WATERS, MD, Medical Director, North Dakota State Hospital, Petitioner and Appellee, v. J.S., Respondent and Appellant. Civil
• Court: North Dakota Supreme Court

Page 145

545 N.W.2d 145

In the Interest of J.S. Robert N. WATERS, MD, Medical Director, North Dakota State Hospital, Petitioner and Appellee, v. J.S., Respondent and Appellant.

Civil No. 960043.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

March 15, 1996.

Appeal from the District Court for Stutsman County, Southeast Judicial District, the Honorable Randall L. Hoffman, Judge.

Gilje & Dalsted, Jamestown, for petitioner and appellee; Charles J. Gilje, on brief; argued by Kenneth L. Dalsted.

Paulson and Merrick, Jamestown, for respondent and appellant; argued by Thomas E. Merrick.

MESCHKE, Justice.

J.S. appeals from orders denying his continuance motion, and continuing his treatment at the North Dakota State Hospital for another year. We affirm.

J.S. has been here before, often. See In Interest of J.S. (J.S. III ), 530 N.W.2d 331 (N.D.1995); In Interest of J.S. (J.S. II ), 528 N.W.2d 367 (N.D.1995); In Interest of J.S. (J.S. I ), 499 N.W.2d 604 (N.D.1993). His background has been reported in our previous decisions, and will be repeated here only as necessary to resolve this appeal.

J.S. has been a patient at the Hospital since 1989. On April 13, 1995, we affirmed an order continuing his treatment at the Hospital until February 15, 1996, with directions for a supplemental hearing on remand to cure the improper ejectment of J.S. from a previous hearing. J.S. III, 530 N.W.2d at 336. After the supplemental hearing, the trial court reaffirmed continued treatment for J.S. until February 15, 1996.

On January 12, 1996, the Hospital petitioned for an order to extend J.S.'s treatment for another year. See NDCC 25-03.1-31(1). The court immediately scheduled a hearing for January 24, 1996. See NDCC 25-03.1-12. The petition and attached supporting reports were properly served on J.S. and on his legal guardian. In a January 15 letter to the court, the guardian expressed her support for the petition, along with her opinion that J.S. "is in need of continuing treatment as he has no insight into his disabilities."

On the day before the hearing, January 23, J.S. moved for a continuance, alleging that the petition was insufficient under NDCC 25-03.1-23, and that it violated due process because it failed to "apprise [him] of the issues to be determined at the hearing." The trial court denied the continuance. After the hearing, the court ordered J.S.'s treatment be continued until January 24, 1997. Under NDCC 25-03.1-29, J.S. brings an expedited appeal.

J.S. argues that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his continuance motion. He asserts that he only had twelve days to prepare for the hearing, that the hearing could still have been held before the last treatment order expired on February 15, and that a continuance would not have prejudiced the Hospital. Thus, J.S. argues that "under the circumstances of this mental health petition, 'good cause' for a continuance existed and it was an abuse of discretion for the court not to grant the continuance." We disagree.

"Motions for continuance ... will be granted only for good cause shown...." NDROC 6.1(b). We will not reverse a trial court's decision to deny a continuance absent an abuse of discretion. State v. Waters, 542 N.W.2d 742, 744 (N.D.1996) (citing State v. Ash, 526 N.W.2d 473 (N.D.1995)). As we explained in Waters at 745, "a trial court abuses its discretion when it acts arbitrarily, unconscionably, or unreasonably."

J.S.'s continuance motion only alleged that the petition was statutorily and constitutionally deficient. This record indicates that J.S. requested a continuance merely to give the Hospital additional time to prepare a more specific petition. In response, the court found that the petition complied with NDCC 25-03.1-23, and that the petition and attached reports gave J.S. enough notice about the issues for the hearing to satisfy due process. Because we agree with that ruling, we conclude the trial court reasonably ruled against J.S. on the only two issues raised by his motion, and did not abuse its discretion in denying the continuance.

J.S. argues that the petition violated due process because it failed to explicitly apprise him of the issues to be determined at the hearing. We disagree.

A petition by the Hospital to extend a continuing-treatment order must comply with NDCC 25-03.1-23. NDCC 25-03.1-31(1). Section 25-03.1-23 directs:

A petition for an order authorizing continuing treatment must contain a statement setting forth the reasons for the determination that the patient continues to be a person requiring treatment; a statement describing the treatment program provided to the patient and the results of that treatment; and a clinical estimate as to how long further treatment will be required. The petition must be accompanied by a certificate executed by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist.

Here, the Hospital used a pre-printed petition form with separate sections for each statement directed by NDCC 25-03.1-23. The Hospital adapted the form to J.S.'s case by adding typewritten comments in each section.

After reviewing this petition, we agree that it could have contained more detailed statements. However, a petition to extend a continuing-treatment order does not have to summarize all of the evidence the petitioner intends to introduce at the hearing. While this one seems unnecessarily sparse, we believe it fairly complied with the basic statutory requirements for a petition.

In our opinion, the petition and attached reports sufficiently apprised J.S. of the issues for determination at the hearing. See In Interest of Nyflot, 340 N.W.2d 178, 184 (N.D.1983). Before a court can order the extension of a continuing-treatment order, it must find that the patient continues to be a "person requiring treatment," as defined in NDCC 25-03.1-02(11). J.S. I, 499 N.W.2d at 605. To make this finding, a two-part analysis is required: "(1) the court must find that the [patient] is mentally ill, and (2) the court must find that there is a reasonable expectation that, if not treated, there exists a serious risk of harm to the [patient], others, or property." In Interest of K.J.L., 541 N.W.2d 698, 700 (N.D.1996). If the court concludes that the patient continues to be a "person requiring treatment," it must further find that "alternative treatment is not adequate and that hospitalization is the least restrictive alternative." J.S. I, 499 N.W.2d at 606; see also In Interest of J.A.D., 492 N.W.2d 82, 86 (N.D.1992). Thus, these were the relevant issues for the January 24 hearing.

A "REPORT OF EXAMINATION," completed by Dr. Leonardo Arevalo and attached to the petition, includes pre-printed sections tracking the statutory definition of a "person requiring treatment" in NDCC 25-03.1-02(11). Dr. Arevalo completed those sections by placing an "x" next to the statutory language that he believed applied to J.S. By tracking the statutory definition, this report notified J.S. that his continued condition as a "person requiring treatment" would be determined at the hearing.

Dr. Arevalo also completed and attached a "REPORT ASSESSING AVAILABILITY AND APPROPRIATENESS OF ALTERNATE TREATMENT." See NDCC 25-03.1-21(1). In the pre-printed section for listing possible alternatives to hospitalization, Dr. Arevalo wrote: "None." The report also explained that alternative treatment programs are unavailable because J.S. "denies that he is mentally ill or that he needs any medication," that J.S. "is very dangerous and is potentially violent toward others when he is off" medication, and that J.S. "plainly states that he would not take any [medication] if he was out of the hospital." This report, along with other statements in the petition and supporting documents, notified J.S. that the unavailability of less restrictive, alternative-treatment programs would be resolved at the hearing. When read together with the supporting reports, the Hospital's petition more than adequately notified J.S. of the relevant inquiries to be made at the hearing.

J.S. also argues that Dr. Arevalo was required to list potential alternative-treatment programs, and could not simply write "[n]one." He cites O'Callaghan v. L.B., 447 N.W.2d 326 (N.D.1989). In that case, a specific report on the availability of alternative-treatment programs was not attached to the petition. Rather, the "REPORT OF...