discussion 1-4

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Southern New Hampshire University *

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Law

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Jan 9, 2024

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The Supreme Court case that I chose that dealt with treatment concerns, was that of Rennie v. Klein. This case involved John Rennie, who was an involuntarily committed mental patient who was then given antipsychotic drugs against his consent and accord. The situation went up to the Federal District Court of New Jersey, where in 1978 the constitutional right for patients like Rennie to refuse psychiatric medication was heard. The court ruled that involuntarily committed patients do in fact have a constitutional right to refuse antipsychotic drugs, with the ability for the mandate to be overruled if there is sufficient evidence showing that the patient presents a danger risk for themselves and/or others (Rennie v. Klein). This ruling impacts the current system we have in place today because it provides involuntarily committed patients constitutional rights within reason. It also affects forensic psychologists who evaluate these clients because they are the professionals who synthesize all patient factors and needs, and determine the likelihood for them benefiting from pharmaceutical treatment. At the end of the day, if the patient does not pose a danger to themselves and/or others it is their constitutional right to refuse medication. This ruling also affects offenders and trauma-related victims within the legal system through what the judge labeled “functionally incompetent” patients, which are individuals who were found competent by the courts but still not competent enough for a psychiatrist to determine as someone who is able to make their own treatment decisions due to lack of insight into their mental condition (Epson, 2012). Their constitutional rights don’t necessarily hold at the courts, which can affect their rights through the legal system. References: Rennie v. Klein, 653 F.2d 836, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 11589 (United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit July 9, 1981, Decided ). https://advance-lexis-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/api/document? collection=cases&id=urn:contentItem:3S4X-0PB0-0039-W0XF-00000-00&context=1516831 .

Epson, M. (2012). A Model Treatment Refusal Procedure for Defendants Found Incompetent to Stand Trial in the Ninth Circuit. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law . https://jaapl.org/content/40/3/417/tab-article-info

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