People v. Rita P. (In re Rita P.)

• Decision Date: 22 May 2014
• Docket Number: No. 115798.,115798.
• Citation: 10 N.E.3d 854,381 Ill.Dec. 445,2014 IL 115798
• Parties: In re RITA P. (The People of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Rita P., Appellee).
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

2014 IL 115798
10 N.E.3d 854
381 Ill.Dec. 445

In re RITA P. (The People of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Rita P., Appellee).

No. 115798.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

May 22, 2014.

[10 N.E.3d 858]

Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, of Springfield, and James D. Owens, State's Attorney, of Wyoming (Michael A. Scodro and Carolyn E. Shapiro, Solicitors General, and Michael M. Glick and Erin M. O'Connell, Assistant Attorneys General, of Chicago, of counsel), and Patrick Delfino, Terry A. Mertel and Gary F. Gnidovec, of the Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, of Ottawa for the People.

Michael J. Pelletier, Peter A. Carusona and Andrew J. Boyd, of the office of State Appellate Defender, of Ottawa, for appellee.

OPINION
Justice THEIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 On September 2, 2011, the Cook County circuit court entered an order authorizing the involuntary treatment of respondent, Rita P., with psychotropic medication. On appeal, respondent argued that the treatment order must be reversed because the trial court failed to comply with section 3–816(a) of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code (Mental Health Code) (405 ILCS 5/3–816(a) (West 2010)), providing that final orders “shall be accompanied by a statement on the record of the court's findings of fact and conclusions of law.” The appellate court agreed with respondent and reversed the treatment order. 2013 IL App (1st) 112837, 369 Ill.Dec. 228, 986 N.E.2d 177.

¶ 2 For the reasons that follow, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

¶ 3 BACKGROUND

¶ 4 On August 18, 2011, Dr. He Yuan, a psychiatrist at Chicago–Read Mental Health Center (Chicago–Read), filed a petition seeking a court order authorizing involuntary treatment of respondent. In the petition, Dr. Yuan described, inter alia, respondent's symptoms, the deterioration in her ability to function, the behaviors in which she engaged that were dangerous to herself and others, and the therapies that had been tried without success. Dr. Yuan stated that respondent met the criteria for a diagnosis of “schizophrenia paranoid type,” and requested authorization to administer specific medications, including Risperidone, for a period of up to 90 days.

¶ 5 A hearing on the petition was held on September 2, 2011. The State called two witnesses: respondent's son, Mayjourio, and Dr. Yuan. Mayjourio testified that he was 24 years old and had lived with respondent in her Evanston home for the past six to seven years. In January 2008, respondent was operating a daycare business in her home. At that time, Mayjourio noticed that respondent was very agitated and angry, and spoke about harming the people that had wronged her. For two months she spoke about “going out there and getting herself some street justice.” In March 2009, Mayjourio observed that respondent had begun talking to herself. She would go into the bedroom or the laundry room, close the door, and have a one-sided conversation. “[S]he would talk, and then she would be quiet, and then she would talk some more, and then be quiet. It was as if she was talking, listening, talking, listening.” Mayjourio further testified that at the same time respondent began talking to herself, her sleep habits changed. Respondent, who had been a heavy sleeper, was now up in the middle of the night talking to herself in her bedroom.

¶ 6 In December 2009, respondent began manifesting different personalities. Mayjourio explained that the silences in respondent's

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one-sided conversations were now filled with other voices, both male and female. Shortly after the appearance of these additional voices, respondent, without explanation, stopped attending choir practice at her church. According to Mayjourio, respondent was a religious woman who attended the Apostolic Church of God on the south side of Chicago. Mayjourio testified that in February 2010, respondent told him that, although no church members had been physically in her home, they were present spiritually, and had “spiritually raped” her.

¶ 7 Mayjourio described an incident in September 2010, in which respondent had “one of her moments,” i.e., a “conversation between her[self] and several of her voices,” and left a pot of water on the stove too long, causing the pot to be blackened. Mayjourio testified that these conversations were time-consuming and took her attention away from other matters. Because respondent was still operating her daycare business, Mayjourio and his sister made sure that one of them was always present so that none of the children were hurt if respondent had one of her “moments.”

¶ 8 Mayjourio also described three incidents, the first of which occurred in September 2010, in which he found respondent with her hands around her own neck choking herself. Respondent denied that she choked herself, telling Mayjourio that it was “the church” or “the voices.” In October 2010, respondent told Mayjourio that she was going to get a gun and kill the members of the church who attacked her. Respondent attempted to get a gun license, and asked Mayjourio to take her to a gun range to practice. Mayjourio testified that during this period, as he had for the past two years, he talked to respondent about seeing a doctor. Every time he brought up the subject, he was met with anger and opposition.

¶ 9 Mayjourio additionally testified regarding an incident in February 2011, in which he came home and discovered an open container of gasoline in the living room. Respondent was still operating her home daycare business at this time. Respondent initially told Mayjourio that she was using the gasoline as a cleaner, but later told him that she was doing experiments. Mayjourio moved the gasoline to the garage, but the following month he found the open gasoline container in the basement, along with turpentine and lighter fluid. Respondent again stated that she was doing experiments.

¶ 10 Mayjourio testified that respondent's condition worsened in the following months:

“She [would] be up at night outside in the front yard, outside in the back yard having screaming matches with the lamp post, and the ground, and the air.

And all the while all the voices are manifesting themselves. She will be in the room screaming, yelling. You will be woke[n] up at 2:00 in the morning to her having one of her fits with herself.

* * * [B]efore the voices wouldn't confront you, but now the voices confront you.

* * *

If you look at her and say, ‘Mom, what's going on,’ Rita doesn't reply. One of the voices replies, ‘My name ain't Rita.’ ”

¶ 11 Mayjourio lastly testified regarding the incident immediately preceding respondent's hospitalization. Mayjourio came home from work and found respondent lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Mayjourio attempted to rouse her, but she was nonresponsive. After ten minutes, respondent, in a man's voice, told

[10 N.E.3d 860]

Mayjourio, “This ain't Rita. * * * Rita dead. Rita going to be dead by tomorrow morning if Rita ain't dead now. This is the church. Rita dead.” Mayjourio attempted to remove respondent from the bedroom to take her to the hospital, but she resisted, swinging her arms, pulling Mayjourio's hair, and kicking his glasses off of his face, still speaking in a man's voice. Mayjourio called 911. When the police arrived, they tried to speak to respondent. She answered in a man's voice, again stating that Rita is dead. The officers, with the help of three EMTs, were able to get respondent onto a gurney and into the ambulance for transport to the hospital. Mayjourio testified that four knives were found in her bedroom. Although acknowledging that respondent ate her meals in her bedroom and that she would have brought utensils with her, Mayjourio testified that the utensils would not have included “big knives” like the ones found in her bedroom.

¶ 12 Dr. Yuan testified that he first saw respondent on August 5, 2011 at Chicago–Read, and had seen her almost daily thereafter. He opined that respondent has a mental illness—schizophrenia paranoid type—in which she has significant delusions regarding church people embodied spiritually and physically inside her. Respondent admitted to Dr. Yuan that she tried to choke herself to kill the people inside her. As of the day before the hearing, respondent still believed she was embodied by church members, but she had not tried to choke herself in the hospital. Dr. Yuan further testified that respondent's functioning had deteriorated due to her preoccupation with the delusions, and that the delusions could be dangerous because respondent may act on them. Respondent, however, had not threatened anyone at Chicago–Read, and no cause existed to place her in restraints or administer emergency medication. Although generally cooperative, respondent refused to attend group therapy, and could not be convinced to take medication. Dr. Yuan deemed group therapy without medication to be inappropriate at this point.

¶ 13 Dr. Yuan additionally testified regarding the primary medications he sought to administer, potential side effects, dosing, and the tests necessary for safe administration of the medication. Dr. Yuan opined that respondent lacked the capacity to make a reasoned decision about the treatment, and that the benefits of the treatment outweighed the harm.

¶ 14 At one point during Dr. Yuan's testimony, a short recess was taken after an interruption by respondent. The court noted on the record that “[r]espondent was speaking in a voice that was much deeper than her voice that she spoke in her earlier interruptions to the Court.”

¶ 15 Respondent testified on her own behalf. At the time of the hearing, she was 51 years old and for the last 15 years had operated a daycare center in her home. Due to the economy and a loss of clientele, respondent closed her business in April 2011 and filed for bankruptcy. She sought general assistance through Evanston Township,...