LYNN — Massachusetts families have a legal mechanism available to protect them from mentally ill loved ones threatening to harm themselves or others, but the system, said a Lynn attorney, is not perfect.
“It’s better than nothing, but it comes down to the question of how much liberty do we allow someone to be miserable or strange?” attorney D.J. Phillips said.
Phillips said the murderous rampage Dec. 14 in Newtown, Conn. does not provide easy answers to the questions of when and how parents should ensure mentally ill children are secured and safe.
“The temptation is to say, ‘It will get better if we just let it be.’ This was a young man who was disturbed. People – at least his mother – knew he was disturbed. But courts are reactive. Someone has to bring something to them,” Phillips said.
According to state Trial Court statistics, civil commitment requests – commonly called “pink papers” – are on the rise in Lynn District Court, with 241 requests filed in 2010; 251 in 2011 and 282 in 2012.
Police officers, doctors or family members can initiate civil commitments, and they can be used to secure an alcoholic’s safety or, as the law states, restrain “dangerous persons.”
Anyone with safety concerns can apply to a district or juvenile court to commit a mentally ill person for three days, stated District Court Chief Justice Lynda Connolly.
Civil commitment filings are not just for the mentally ill but the law, noted Connolly, requires a “speedy examination by a psychiatrist, who can admit the person if the doctor finds that by reason of mental illness ‘the failure to hospitalize the individual would create a likelihood of serious harm.'”
During the three-day commitment, Connolly said treatment is typically provided to the person and the individual is also offered hospital admission on a voluntary basis.
Medical personnel can seek a court commitment hearing if they think additional hospitalization is warranted and the individual does not voluntarily agree.
“Based on the evidence, the judge makes a decision on whether or not to commit the individual,” Connolly said.
Connolly said the commitment process typically starts with a concerned family member going to court to seek a commitment.
“What’s important to note is that there is a mechanism available to family members who think a loved one poses a danger to themselves or others,” she said.
But Phillips said “someone has to make the decision” to get help for a mentally ill person and parents making that decision face one of the toughest choices of their lives.
“To tell a mother you are compelled to turn in your son – that’s going to go over really well,” he said, adding, “The sad part is there is no good solution: You try to strike a balance.”
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
