L.L., In re, 04-91-00322-CV
| Decision Date | 30 September 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-91-00322-CV,04-91-00322-CV |
| Parties | In re L.L., Appellant. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Virginia Raymond, Marvin E. Prevost, Advocacy, Inc., Austin, Tex., for appellant.
Edmund Burke Huber, Jr., Asst. County Atty., Kerrville, Tex., for appellee.
Before CHAPA, PEEPLES and CARR, JJ.
This is an appeal from the 216th District Court of Kerr County, 1 which purports to challenge an order for renewal of extended mental health services to L.L. 2 , signed on May 23, 1991, by the County Judge of Kerr County, exercising his jurisdiction as a probate court in mental illness matters, as mandated by article 5547-40 of the Mental Health Code.
Appellant is a 26-year-old woman who was transferred to the Kerrville State Hospital from Uvalde County on May 13, 1988. Before being transferred from Uvalde County, she was receiving in-patient care at the San Antonio State Hospital.
The factual background leading to this appeal shows that the patient's initial commitment hearing was held on May 26, 1988, and a notice of hearing was made. She requested a hearing before the court, resulting in a waiver of trial by jury. Her 1989 commitment was made without a hearing, and the record before this court indicates that her attorney at that time elected to have the trial court decide whether to renew the commitment based on medical certificates only. The patient's 1990 commitment, according to appellant, was on the basis of medical certificates only, which has been challenged by appellee. There is nothing in the record before this court to demonstrate on what basis the 1990 commitment was made.
The hearing on the 1991 renewal of mental health services, which is the subject of this appeal, occurred on May 23, 1991. Article 5547-55, entitled "Renewal of Order for Extended Mental Health Services", sets the parameters for a renewal proceeding. The subject proceeding included testimony from Dr. William F. Schultheis, who testified that at one time he "served at San Antonio State Hospital and was [L.L.'s] treating psychiatrist there as well," and that "[h]er diagnosis presently is schizophrenia, chronic undifferentiated type, mild mental retardation with behavioral symptoms and with some associated antisocial personality traits." The hearing on the requested renewal of mental health services was before a jury, which, in a unanimous verdict, found the patient was mentally ill and met the criteria for court-ordered mental health services.
On May 28, 1991, appellant's present counsel 3 filed with the Kerr County Clerk an entry of appearance, a motion for transfer of the proceedings to the Kerr County District Court, and a motion for rehearing. On May 30, 1991, the Honorable W.G. Stacy, Judge of Kerr County Court, signed an order transferring the matter to the 216th District Court of Kerr County. On June 3, 1991, prior to any hearing in the 216th District Court, appellant's counsel filed a notice of appeal. 4
It is unclear whether appellant's counsel desired for the district court to entertain the motion for rehearing of the proceedings which had transpired before the County Judge. Such a procedural irregularity is without authority. At any rate, the motion for rehearing, which centered primarily on appellant's physical absence from the 1991 commitment renewal proceeding, was not heard in either the district or the county court. At the same time, it is equally apparent that appellant's counsel invoked article 5547-41 as the sole basis for seeking a transfer of the proceedings. Article 5547-40, entitled "Court in Which Proceedings to be Held", provides that:
A proceeding pursuant to this subchapter shall be held in the statutory or constitutional court of the county exercising the jurisdiction of a probate court in mental illness matters.
TEX.REV.CIV.STAT.ANN. art. 5547-40 (Vernon Supp.1991). Article 5547-41 provides the procedural mechanism for transferring a prospective mental health proceeding from the county court "to a court with a judge that is an attorney licensed to practice law in this state." Id. art. 5547-41 (Vernon Supp.1991).
Appellant has brought eight points of error in this appeal, which are set forth as follows:
(1) the trial court erred in proceeding on the application for renewal of an order for court-ordered mental health treatment because such application was facially invalid;
(2) the trial court committed material and harmful error when it proceeded with the hearing in appellant's absence, when neither appellant nor her attorney had waived her presence;
(3) the trial court erred in ordering appellant committed to Kerrville State Hospital because there was no evidence that she was mentally ill under the Texas Mental Health Code;
(4) the trial court erred in ordering appellant committed to Kerrville State Hospital because there was insufficient evidence that she was mentally ill under the Texas Mental Health Code;
(5) the trial court erred in committing appellant to Kerrville State Hospital because there was no evidence that, as a result of mental illness, she was likely to cause serious harm to others, or that she would, if not treated, continue to suffer severe and abnormal mental, emotional or physical distress and would continue to experience deterioration of her ability to function independently and was unable to make a rational and informed decision as to whether or not to submit to treatment;
(6) the trial court erred in committing appellant to Kerrville State Hospital because there was insufficient evidence that, as a result of mental illness, she was likely to cause serious harm to herself, or that she was likely to cause serious harm to others, or that she would, if not treated, continue to suffer severe and abnormal mental, emotional or physical distress and would continue to experience deterioration of her ability to function independently and was unable to make a rational and informed decision as to whether or not to submit to treatment;
(7) even if appellant was properly found to meet the criteria for court-ordered mental health services, the trial court erred in determining that Kerrville State Hospital was the least restrictive available alternative setting for mental health treatment; and
(8) appellant was wrongfully deprived of a valid jury trial in violation of the Texas Constitution and the Mental Health Code.
For the reasons set forth hereafter, we do not reach the merits of any of these points of error. Instead, we agree with appellee that the district court, from which this appeal purports to come, lacked jurisdiction over the matter. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
The mandatory language of article 5547-57 of the Mental Health Code provides that "[a]ll appeals from orders requiring court-ordered mental health services, including renewals or modifications of such orders, shall be filed in the court of appeals for the county in which the order was entered." Article 5547-41 of the Code, the construction of which is at issue in this appeal, allows for...
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