JL v. Parham

• Decision Date: 26 February 1976
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 75-163-MAC.
• Citation: 412 F. Supp. 112
• Parties: J. L. and J. R., minors, Individually and as representatives of a class consisting of all persons younger than 18 years of age, now or hereafter received by any defendant for observation or diagnosis and/or detained for care or treatment at any facility within the State of Georgia, pursuant to 1969 Georgia Laws pp. 505-517, informally codified as Georgia Code Annotated § 88-503.1, Plaintiffs, v. James PARHAM, Individually and as Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Georgia

412 F. Supp. 112

J. L. and J. R., minors, Individually and as representatives of a class consisting of all persons younger than 18 years of age, now or hereafter received by any defendant for observation or diagnosis and/or detained for care or treatment at any facility within the State of Georgia, pursuant to 1969 Georgia Laws pp. 505-517, informally codified as Georgia Code Annotated § 88-503.1, Plaintiffs, v. James PARHAM, Individually and as Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources, et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 75-163-MAC.

United States District Court, M. D. Georgia, Macon Division.

February 26, 1976.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

David Goren, Gerald R. Tarutis, Steven Granberg, Macon, Ga., Georgia Legal Services Program, Guardian ad Litem for plaintiffs. Nancy Lindbloom, Macon, Ga., John Cromartie, Jr., Atlanta, Ga., Joseph J. Levin, Pamela S. Horowitz, Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, Ala., of counsel.

Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., Robert S. Stubbs, II, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen., Dan A. Langham, Deputy Atty. Gen., Timothy J. Sweeney, Senior Asst. Atty. Gen., Dorothy Y. Kirkley, R. Douglas Lackey, Asst. Attys. Gen., Atlanta, Ga., for defendants.

Before BELL, Circuit Judge, BOOTLE, Senior District Judge, and OWENS, District Judge.

OWENS, District Judge:

This lawsuit was begun by two boys, one twelve and one thirteen years of age, known herein by their initials — J. R. and J. L. — to secure their release from more than five years of confinement in Georgia's mental hospital at Milledgeville pursuant to Georgia's mental health laws providing for the voluntary admission of minor children to mental hospitals by parents or guardians, to wit: 1933 Ga.Code Ann. §§ 88-503.1, 503.2, 503.3, 1969 Ga.Laws 505, 517-18:

"88-503.1 Authority to receive voluntary patients, — (a) The superintendent¹ of any facility² may receive for observation and diagnosis any individual 18 years of age, or older, making application therefor, any individual under 18 years of age for whom such application is made by his parent or guardian and any person legally adjudged to be incompetent for whom such application is made by his guardian. If found to show evidence of mental illness³ and to be suitable for treatment, such person may be given care and treatment at such facility and such person may be detained by such facility for such period and under such conditions as may be authorized by law." (emphasis added).

"(b) The superintendent of any evaluating facility may receive for observation and diagnosis any individual 14 years of age or older who makes application therefor. If such individual is under 18 years of age, his parent or guardian may apply for his discharge and the superintendent shall release the patient within five days of such application for discharge.

"88.503.2. Discharge of voluntary patients. —The superintendent of the facility shall discharge any voluntary patient who has recovered from his mental illness or who has sufficiently improved that the superintendent determines that hospitalization of the patient is no longer desirable. He may also discharge any voluntary patient, if to do so would, in his judgment, contribute to the most effective use of the facility in the care and treatment of mentally ill persons: Provided, however, that in no event shall any such patient be discharged if, in the judgment of the superintendent of such facility, such discharge would be unsafe for the patient or others." (emphasis added).

"88.503.3. Right of voluntary patients to discharge on application. — (a) A voluntary patient who is admitted to a facility pursuant to section 88-503.1, or his legal guardian, parent, spouse, attorney or adult next-of-kin, may request his discharge in writing at any time after five days following his admission to the facility, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. This request may be submitted to the superintendent or to any staff physician or staff registered nurse of the facility for transmittal to the superintendent. If the patient or another on his behalf makes an oral request for release to any staff physician or staff registered nurse, the patient must, within three days, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded, be given assistance in preparing a written request. If a written request is submitted to a staff physician or staff registered nurse, the physician or nurse shall deliver the request to the superintendent within 24 hours. Within five days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, of the delivery of a written request for release to the superintendent, the patient must be discharged from the facility unless the superintendent finds that the discharge would be unsafe to the patient or others, in which case proceedings for involuntary hospitalization must be initiated under section 88-506.3 prior to the expiration of such five-day period. If the patient was admitted on his own application and the request for discharge is made by a person other than the patient, the discharge may be conditioned upon the agreement of the patient thereto. If the patient was admitted before the age of 18 on the application of his parent or guardian under section 88-503.1, his discharge prior to becoming 18 years of age may be conditioned upon the consent thereto of his parent or guardian. If the patient was admitted as an adjudged incompetent on the application of his guardian under section 88.503.1, his discharge prior to a legal restoration of competency may be conditioned upon the consent thereto of his guardian.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, proceedings for the involuntary hospitalization of an individual received by a facility as a voluntary patient shall not be commenced unless the discharge of the voluntary patient is first requested as provided in subsection (a) hereof." (Emphasis added).

J. R. was born on August 14, 1962. Approximately three months after birth a juvenile court because of severe parental neglect, removed him from his parents' home and placed him in a foster home under the supervision of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services. After having lived in a total of seven different foster homes, when he was almost eight years of age he was admitted by the defendant on June 25, 1970, to Georgia's oldest and largest mental hospital, called Central State Hospital at Milledgeville, Georgia. In each foster home it seemed that he had lost his place to a more favored child. On October 27, 1966, a juvenile court order had given "permanent custody for the purpose of placing said child for adoption"⁴ to the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services. Adoption did not materialize, and without further court hearing or order J. R. remained in the custody of the Department of Family and Children Services in said foster homes until that department applied directly to said mental hospital for his admission to said mental hospital pursuant to § 88-503.1. Upon admission he was found by hospital personnel to be mentally ill, and his mental illness was described as "1. Borderline mental retardation 310.90.⁵—2. Unsocialized, aggressive reaction of childhood 308.40".⁶ Exhibit 7. In early 1973, hospital personnel began requesting the Department of Family and Children Services to remove J. R. from hospital confinement and place him in a long-term foster or adoptive home because of a feeling that he "will only regress if he does not get a suitable home placement, and as soon as possible." Exhibit 9-A-2. On August 9, 1973, hospital personnel "felt that efforts to obtain a foster placement should be primary at this time, lest J. R. become a permanently institutionalized child." Exhibit 10-A-2. A foster home was not obtained for J. R., and he remained in confinement. On October 24, 1975, when this lawsuit was filed, he had been confined for five years and four months of his thirteen years, two months of life.

J. L. at birth on October 1, 1963, was adopted. His parents divorced when he was three, and he went to live with his mother. She remarried and soon gave birth to a child. On May 15, 1970, his mother and step-father, pursuant to the previously quoted state law § 88-503.1, applied for his admission to what is now Central State Hospital; he was admitted. Hospital personnel found that J. L. was mentally ill and diagnosed his illness as "Hyperkinetic Reaction of Childhood 308.00."⁷ On September 8, 1972, he was discharged to his mother, but she brought him back to the hospital and readmitted him ten days later. He then remained in the hospital in confinement, and at the time this lawsuit commenced had been in confinement for five years and five months of his twelve years, one month of life. In 1973 hospital personnel indicated to the Department of Family and Children Services that J. L. needed to be removed from hospital confinement and placed in specialized foster care. His records show that the Department of Family and Children Services indicated that the department could not pay for institutionalized (private) foster care unless J. L. was eligible for such care to be paid for by A.F.D.C. or Social Security funds. He was not an A.F.D.C. eligible child. See Exhibit 1. Specialized foster care was not obtained for J. L. by the defendants.

J. R. and J. L. filed this lawsuit against defendant James Parham, Commissioner of Georgia's Department of Human Resources which has responsibility for the Division of Mental Health, the Department of Family and Children Services and the Division for Children and Youth;⁸ defendant Dr. Douglas Skelton, Director of the Division of Mental Health; and defendant Dr. W. T. Smith, Chief Medical Officer of Central State Hospital. In doing so they sought and were allowed to proceed without opposition pursuant to Rule 23, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, individually and as representatives of the class consisting "of all persons younger than 18 years of age now or hereafter received by any defendant...