Jackson v. Ind. Adult Protective Servs.

• Decision Date: 17 March 2016
• Docket Number: No. 18A02–1508–MI–1075.,18A02–1508–MI–1075.
• Parties: Norma JACKSON, Appellant–Respondent, v. INDIANA ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES, Appellee–Petitioner.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

52 N.E.3d 821

Norma JACKSON, Appellant–Respondent

v.INDIANA ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES, Appellee–Petitioner.

No. 18A02–1508–MI–1075.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

March 17, 2016.

Ana M. Quirk, Muncie, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Frances Barrow, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

MATHIAS

, Judge.

[1] Norma Jackson (“Jackson”) appeals a protective services order issued by the Delaware Circuit Court requiring her to receive twenty-four-hour care and supervision at a nursing facility. Jackson argues that Adult Protective Services (“APS”) failed to present sufficient evidence that she was an “endangered adult” and that a life threatening emergency existed under Indiana Code section 12–10–3–28

.

[2] We reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Facts and Procedural History

[3] On April 9, 2015, while driving, Jackson hit a small pine tree across the street from her home. The accident caused extensive damage to Jackson's vehicle, and it was towed away by a wrecking company. Jackson was not injured in the accident, but she could not remember what happened to her car the next day, so she called the police approximately twenty times asking for its location. The police explained to her that it was towed by a wrecking company. Jackson was clearly confused by this answer, and she continued to call the police about the location of her car. She eventually told the police that they had no right to tow her car. Jackson also repeatedly asked the police if her car had been repaired, and they responded that she would have to contact her insurance company about that.

[4] After this incident, and because of Jackson's repeated calls, on April 11, 2015, the Muncie Police Department decided to conduct a welfare check on Jackson. Jackson was eighty-one years old and living alone at this time.¹ When the police arrived at her residence, Jackson would not let the officers in her home because she did not know them. Through her locked screen door, the officers asked Jackson to name the day. Jackson responded that she did not have any need to keep track of the days. The officers also asked her to name the current mayor of Muncie, to which she responded, “Who cares.” Appellee's App. p. 10. The police asked Jackson to name the current president of the United States, as well. Jacksons stated that she thought it was Barack Obama but was not sure if he was still President.

[5] Based on this interaction, the officers believed that Jackson would benefit from a psychological evaluation. After an hour of talking to Jackson through the screen door, a helicopter flew overhead. When Jackson stepped out onto the porch to look at the helicopter, officers blocked her entry back into the home. The officers then loaded Jackson into the ambulance, and she was taken to IU Health/Ball Memorial Hospital. Jackson was admitted to the Gero–Psychiatric Unit of Meridian Services at the hospital.

[6] That same day, Meridian Services submitted an application for emergency detention of a mentally ill and dangerous person which stated that Jackson had a “psychiatric disorder that substantially disturbed her thinking, feeling or behavior and impaired her ability to function.” Appellee's App. p. 3. The application also indicated that Jackson was gravely disabled and in need of immediate restraint because of “increased confusion, poor tracking, substantial impairment in judgment/reasoning.” Id.

[7] In the corresponding physician's statement submitted to the mental health court on April 15, 2015, Doctor Abdulmalek Sadehh (“Dr. Sadehh”) stated that Jackson was suffering from a psychiatric disorder, specifically “Dementia

NOS [not otherwise specified] most likely Alzheimer's type.” Id. at 6. Dr. Sadehh also noted that Jackson had poor short-term memory, poor insight and impaired judgment, and was unable to manage some personal needs such as driving a car, managing finances, and living safely at home. Id. Dr. Sadehh also recommended that Jackson be placed in the custody, care, or treatment in an appropriate facility and suggested placement in the Meridian Services Gero–Psychiatric Unit for no more than ninety-days. The medical team was concerned that if Jackson returned home, she would not take her medication or let home health workers into her house. On April 17, 2015, the court granted the hospital's application, and Jackson was placed under a temporary ninety-day commitment.

[8] After Jackson was committed, Meridian Services contacted APS to assist placing Jackson in a nursing facility. Appellant's App. p. 6. On April 27, 2015, Steve Sumner (“Sumner”) of APS filed a verified petition for emergency services. That same day, a hearing was held, and the trial court entered an order for emergency services, directing Jackson to be transported to The Woodlands Care Center (“The Woodlands”). The trial court scheduled a hearing on the petition for emergency services and to appoint a guardian ad litem and fiduciary conservator for May 8, 2015. After Jackson requested a continuance, a hearing was held on these matters on June 26, 2015.

[9] After arriving at The Woodlands, Jackson was under the care of Doctor Lynn Valena (“Dr. Valena”). Dr. Valena observed that Jackson was forgetful and needed help taking her medication. Dr. Valena believed that Jackson would benefit from receiving twenty-four-hour care. She also noted that Jackson was in relatively good physical shape. A social worker at The Woodlands, Katie Lucas (“Lucas”), also agreed that Jackson had cognitive issues, making her a good candidate for services. Lucas specifically explained that Jackson is unable to identify the day of the week, so she does not know when to go to work, pay bills, or take out the trash. Certified nursing aide at The Woodlands, Athena Jackson,² would sometimes remind Jackson where her room and bathroom were located and worried that if Jackson was sent home that she could not completely take care of herself. However, Jackson brushes her teeth, bathes, feeds, and dresses herself without any assistance from the nursing staff.

[10] Jackson has no immediate family, but Jackson's former sister-in-law, Lillian Pullins (“Pullins”), used to bring Jackson milk every so often. Pullins agreed that Jackson would not likely take her medication on her own but said that Jackson has done “good” over the years. Statement of Evidence p. 7.³ Pullins explained that when Jackson lived on her own she purchased her own groceries, paid off the mortgage on her house, and arranged for bills to be paid by her bank.

[11] The trial court entered a protective services order on June 30, 2015, finding Jackson to be an endangered adult in need of protective services for twenty-four-hour care and supervision. The court ordered Jackson to remain at The Woodlands until a medical doctor determines that she is ready for discharge into a less restrictive environment. Jackson now appeals.

Jackson's Commitment

[12] Although Jackson appeals the trial court's protective services order determining that she was an endangered adult involved in a life threatening emergency, we begin our analysis with Jackson's temporary commitment.

Civil commitment is a significant deprivation of liberty that requires due process protections. Because everyone exhibits some abnormal conduct at one time or another, loss of liberty calls for a showing that the individual suffers from something more serious than is demonstrated by idiosyncratic behavior. The petitioner ... is required to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the individual is: (1) mentally ill and (2) either dangerous or gravely disabled and that (3) commitment is appropriate. Ind.Code § 12–26–2–5(e)

. In order to carry its burden of proof, the petitioner is not required to prove that the individual is both dangerous and gravely disabled. However, there is no constitutional basis for confining a mentally ill person who is not dangerous and can live safely in freedom.

Civil Commitment of W.S. v. Eskenazi Health, Midtown Cmty. Mental Health Ctr., 23 N.E.3d 29, 33 (Ind.Ct.App.2014)

(quoting M.L. v. Meridian Servs., Inc., 956 N.E.2d 752, 755 (Ind.Ct.App.2011) ) (quotation marks and some citations omitted), trans. denied.

[13] Although we have not reviewed the transcript of the commitment hearing, the emergency detention application and physician's statement was included in the record to support APS's argument. See Appellee's App. pp. 3, 6. In its application for emergency detention, Meridian Services alleged that Jackson needed to be committed because she was mentally ill and gravely disabled. Id. A mental illness is defined as a psychiatric disorder that substantially disturbs an individual's thinking, feeling, or behavior and impairs the individual's ability to function. Ind.Code § 12–7–2–130

. Dr. Sadehh indicated that Jackson was mentally ill and diagnosed her with dementia NOS, most likely the Alzheimer's type. Further, Dr. Sadehh expressed that Jackson was gravely disabled as defined in Indiana Code section 12–7–2–96 :

“Gravely disabled”, for purposes of IC 12–26, means a condition in which an individual, as a result of mental illness is in danger of coming to harm because the individual:

* * *

(2) has a substantial impairment or an obvious deterioration of that individual's judgment, reasoning, or behavior that results in the individual's inability to function independently.

[14] Dr. Sadehh believed that Jackson was gravely disabled under Indiana Code section 12–7–2–96(2)

because Jackson has “poor short-term memory, poor insight and impaired judgment, and is unable to manage some personal needs such as driving a car, managing finances, and living safely at home.” See Appellee's App. p. 6. Again, we have not been presented with the transcript from the commitment hearing, but we must emphasize that there is no constitutional basis for confining a mentally ill person who is not dangerous and can live safely in freedom. S...