A pretrial defendant's dangerous is not a reason, under the state law governing competency, to order involuntary medication for the person, the state Court of Appeals ruled this week.
Instead, Appellate Judge Sara Geenen wrote for the three-member District I Court of Appeals panel, the order must be supported by findings under a law that specifically authorizes such medication orders.
Geenen was joined in her opinion by Appellate Judges M. Joseph Donald and Pedro Colon.
"Naomi" was in a psychiatric hospital in January, 2023, when she allegedly hit a nurse and kicked a law enforcement officer in the shin. She was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with misdemeanor battery and obstructing and officer.
A judge found her incompetent to proceed and ordered commitment to Mendota Mental Health Institute for treatment.
Three weeks later, however, she was still sitting in the jail. She allegedly slapped a nurse dispensing medications and, as a result, was charged with felony battery by a prisoner.
A judge again ordered a competency evaluation. Before it was held, the Department of Health Services requested an involuntary medication order and a treatment plan by Kevin Murtaugh, a Mendota psychiatrist.
"Dr. Murtaugh opined in his report that, in addition to being necessary for Naomi to regain competency, 'involuntary administration of medication(s) and treatment is needed because [Naomi] poses a current risk of harm to self or others if not medicated or treated,' ” Geenen wrote.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Swanson found Naomi incompetent to proceed and granted the commitment and involuntary medication requests.
Swanson believed that state Supreme Court precedent "authorized the courts to involuntarily medicate incompetent defendants based on a finding of dangerousness," Geenen said.
Naomi appealed, arguing the state statute regarding competency has its own "involuntary medication provision which contemplates involuntary medication only for the purpose of rendering a defendant competent to stand trial, and it does not authorize involuntary medication based on a defendant’s dangerousness." she wrote.
The panel agreed. Defendants committed under the competency statute cannot be involuntarily medicated because of dangerousness unless there are appropriate proceedings based on "some other statute that authorizes involuntary medication based on the defendant’s dangerousness," Geenen said. "Any request for involuntary medication due to dangerousness would then be made in the parallel proceedings."
The panel also rejected the argument that the Supreme Court cleared the way for the involuntary medication "without grounding that order in some other Wisconsin statutory authority that specifically authorizes dangerousness as a basis for involuntary medication."
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