State v. Dennis H.
| Citation | 2002 WI 104,255 Wis.2d 359,647 N.W.2d 851 |
| Decision Date | 12 July 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-0374.,01-0374. |
| Parties | IN RE the COMMITMENT OF DENNIS H., STATE of Wisconsin, Petitioner-Respondent, v. DENNIS H., Respondent-Appellant. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Wisconsin |
For the respondent-appellant there were briefs by Ellen Henak, assistant state public defender, and Thomas K. Zander, Milwaukee, and oral argument by Ellen Henak.
For the petitioner-respondent the cause was argued by Thomas J. Balistreri, assistant attorney general, with whom on the brief was James E. Doyle, attorney general.
An amicus curiae brief was filed by Theresa M. Hottenroth and Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison, on behalf of the Treatment Advocacy Center, and there was oral argument by Mary Zdanowicz.
An amicus curiae brief was filed by Mary Dianne Greenley, Madison, on behalf of the Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy, Inc. An amicus curiae brief was filed by Robert Theine Pledl and Schott, Bublitz & Engel, S.C., Brookfield, on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Foundation.
An amicus curiae brief was filed by Michael J. Bachhuber, Milwaukee, on behalf of the Grassroots Empowerment Project, Inc.
An amicus curiae brief was filed by Richard G. Niess and Coyne, Niess, Schultz, Becker & Bauer, S.C., Madison, and Kenneth J. Kress, Iowa City, Iowa, on behalf of Kenneth J. Kress.
An amicus curiae brief was filed by Herbert S. Bratt, Milwaukee, and Mark L. Adams and Melanie E. Cohen, Madison, on behalf of the Wisconsin Psychiatric Association, Inc., and the State Medical Society of Wisconsin.
An amicus curiae brief was filed by Mary Dianne Greenley, Madison, on behalf of the Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy, Inc., and the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.
¶ 1.
This case is before the court on certification from the court of appeals, which we accepted to resolve a single issue of law: whether the fifth standard of dangerousness in the involuntary civil commitment statute, Wis. Stat. § 51.20(1)(a)2.e. (1999-2000), is constitutional. We hold that it is.
¶ 2. Dennis H. is the subject of this mental health commitment, and he has schizophrenia. His father, his psychiatrist, and his case manager filed a three-party petition in Milwaukee County Circuit Court seeking to commit him pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 51.20(1)(a) (1999-2000)1, because he was exhibiting behavior that had previously led to his hospitalization in critical condition for kidney failure.
¶ 3. Dennis H. moved to dismiss, arguing that the fifth standard of dangerousness, Wis. Stat. § 51.20(1)(a)2.e., is unconstitutional.2 The circuit court denied the motion, a jury found Dennis H. dangerous under the fifth standard, and he was committed. He appealed, and the court of appeals certified the case to this court.
¶ 4. Dennis H. contends that the fifth standard is facially unconstitutional because it violates the due process and equal protection guarantees of the federal and state constitutions and is also vague and overbroad.3 More specifically, he argues that the statute is constitutionally infirm because it lacks a requirement of imminent dangerousness to self or others, and because it allows commitment upon a finding of a substantial probability of something less than physical harm, to wit, mental or emotional harm.
[1]
¶ 5. A facial constitutional challenge to a statute is an uphill endeavor. The state has a well-established, legitimate interest under its parens patriae power in providing care to persons unable to care for themselves, and also has authority under its police power to protect the community from mentally ill persons determined to be dangerous. Heller v. Doe, 509 U.S. 312, 332 (1993) (citing Addington v. Texas, 441 U.S. 418, 426 (1979)). The general rule, of course, is that any legislative enactment carries a presumption of constitutionality. State v. Carpenter, 197 Wis. 2d 252, 263-64, 541 N.W.2d 105 (1995).
¶ 6. Furthermore, "[w]e deal here with issues of unusual delicacy, in an area where professional judgments regarding desirable procedures are constantly and rapidly changing." Heller, 509 U.S. at 333 () (quoting Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform, 431 U.S. 816, 855-856 (1977)). "In such a context, restraint is appropriate on the part of courts called upon to adjudicate whether a particular procedural scheme is adequate under the Constitution." Id. We conclude that the fifth standard is not unconstitutionally vague or overbroad, and does not violate due process or equal protection.
¶ 7. On June 23, 2000, Dennis H.'s father, psychiatrist, and case manager filed a petition in Milwaukee County Circuit Court to have him involuntarily committed for treatment under Wis. Stat. § 51.20(1)(a). Dennis H. suffers from schizophrenia and, due to medication noncompliance, had previously been hospitalized in acute renal failure and electrolyte imbalance brought on by extreme and rapid weight loss and dehydration.
¶ 8. Dennis H. sought to have the petition dismissed, arguing that the fifth standard of dangerousness as grounds for involuntary commitment, Wis. Stat. § 51.20(1)(a)2.e., violates the federal and state constitutions. The circuit court, the Honorable Michael J. Dwyer, rejected Dennis H.'s constitutional challenge and denied the motion to dismiss.
¶ 9. Noting that the state has a legitimate interest under its police and parens patriae powers in protecting society and the mentally ill, the circuit court concluded that the fifth standard constituted a "new description of dangerousness" sufficient to justify commitment. The circuit court viewed the fifth standard's new definition as encompassing a requirement of present dangerousness, albeit "in a little different vocabulary" than the other four. Because the fifth standard did not dispense with dangerousness as a precondition of commitment, but merely defined it in a different way, the circuit court found it "constitutionally appropriate."4 ¶ 10. A probable cause hearing was held. Following the testimony of two doctors, the first four standards of dangerousness were determined to be inapplicable, and the case proceeded to trial on the fifth standard only.
¶ 11. A jury trial was held on July 24-25, 2000, before the Honorable Victor Manian. The jury was instructed on the statutory elements of the fifth standard, and returned a verdict finding Dennis H. dangerous. The circuit court ordered Dennis H. committed for a period of six months. Pursuant to stipulation, this was later extended for another six months. Dennis H. appealed the order of commitment, and the court of appeals certified the case to this court.
[2-5]
¶ 12. The constitutionality of a statute is a question of law which this court reviews de novo. State v. Janssen, 219 Wis. 2d 362, 370, 580 N.W.2d 260 (1998). The party challenging a statute must establish its unconstitutionality beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. McManus, 152 Wis. 2d 113, 129, 447 N.W.2d 654 (1989). "Every presumption must be indulged to sustain the law if at all possible and, wherever doubt exists as to a legislative enactment's constitutionality, it must be resolved in favor of constitutionality." Carpenter, 197 Wis. 2d at 263-64 (citing McManus, 152 Wis. 2d at 129 (citations and quotation marks omitted in original)). A court does not evaluate the merits of the legislature's economic, social, or political policy choices, but is limited to considering whether the statute violates some specific constitutional provision. State ex rel. Hammermill Paper Co. v. La Plante, 58 Wis. 2d 32, 46-47, 205 N.W.2d 784 (1973). [6]
¶ 13. We have previously noted that the United States Supreme Court has declined to prescribe "strict boundaries for legislative determinations of what degree of dangerousness is necessary for involuntary commitment," because "[s]ubstantive as well as procedural limitations on a state's traditional power to commit the dangerously mentally ill vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction." State v. Post, 197 Wis. 2d 279, 312, 541 N.W.2d 115 (1995), cert. denied, 521 U.S. 1118 (1997) (footnote omitted) (citing Jackson v. Indiana, 406 U.S. 715, 736-37 (1972)). Because of "the uncertainty endemic to the field of psychiatry . . . particular deference must be shown to legislative decisions in that arena." Id. (citing Jones v. United States, 463 U.S. 354, 364 n.13 (1983)). Accordingly, courts generally proceed with restraint in this complex, delicate, and policy-sensitive area, deferring to the procedural scheme the legislature has chosen. See Heller, 509 U.S. at 332
¶ 14. We start with the text of the statute at issue. Section 51.20 of the Wisconsin Statutes governs involuntary civil commitments for mental health treatment and contains five different definitions or standards of dangerousness for purposes of involuntary commitment. The so-called "fifth standard," Wis. Stat. § 51.20(1)(a)2.e., was enacted in 1995, see 1995 Wis. Act 292, and provides that "an individual, other than an individual who is alleged to be drug dependent or developmentally disabled," is considered "dangerous" if:
[A]fter the advantages and disadvantages of and alternatives to accepting a particular medication or treatment have been explained to him or her and because of mental illness, evidences either incapability of expressing an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of accepting medication or treatment and the alternatives, or substantial incapability of applying an understanding of the advantages, disadvantages, and alternatives to his or her mental illness in order to make an informed choice as to whether to accept or refuse medication or treatment; and evidences a substantial probability, as demonstrated by both the individual's treatment history and his or her recent acts or omissions, that the...
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