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5150 (involuntary psychiatric hold)

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Section 5150 is a section of the California Welfare and Institutions Code (specifically, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act or "LPS") which allows a qualified officer or clinician to involuntarily confine a person deemed to have a mental disorder that makes them a danger to him or her self, and/or others and/or gravely disabled. A qualified officer, which includes any California peace officer, as well as any specifically designated county clinician, can request the confinement after signing a written declaration. When used as a term, 5150 (pronounced "fifty-one-fifty") can informally refer to the person being confined or to the declaration itself.[1]

The process

The 5150 hold may be written out on Form MH 302, Application for 72 Hour Detention for Evaluation and Treatment.[2]

Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) 5150 is interpreted by the LA County LPS Designation Handbook [1], page 5, as an .. an application for involuntary admission. According to this interpretation, WIC 5150 is not (page 5) ... a direct admission form and does not of itself authorize the involuntary admission; it merely gets the individual to the door. Then, as described in WIC 5151: Prior to admitting a person to the facility, the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee shall assess the individual in person to determine the appropriateness of the involuntary detention (face to face assessment). Further, according to the LA County LPS Designation Handbook ... The ability to place a person on an involuntary hold in the community is the only situation outside of law enforcement where an individual may take away another individual's right to freedom and detain him or her against his or her will...[3]

During the period of confinement, a confined individual is evaluated by a mental health professional to determine if a psychiatric admission is warranted. Confinement and evaluation usually occurs in a county mental health hospital or in a designated Emergency Department. If the individual is then admitted to a psychiatric unit, only a psychiatrist may rescind the 5150 and allow the person to either remain voluntarily or be discharged.

On or previous to the expiration of the 72 hours, the psychiatrist must assess the person to see if they still meet criteria for hospitalization. If so, the person may be offered a voluntary admission. If it is refused, then another hold for up to 14 days, the 5250 (WIC-5250), must be written to continue the involuntary confinement of the person. A Certification Review Hearing (W&I 5256) must occur within four days before a judge or hearing officer to determine whether probable cause exists to support the 5250. Alternativly, the person can demand a writ of habeas corpus to be filed for their release after they are certified for a 5250, and once filed, by law, the person must be in front of a judge in two (2) days, which, is two days sooner then the Certification Review Hearing. If the person demands to file a writ of habeas corpus right at the time of being given notice of certification, the Certification Review Hearing will not take place. Many patients wait to see how things go at the Certification Review Hearing first, because if the person loses at the Certification Review Hearing, he/she can then take advantage of the right to file writ of habeas corpus and end up having two hearings, instead of just one. [4] [5] If the 72-hour timeframe has elapsed before the person is offered a voluntary admission or placed on the 5250 hold, the person must be immediately released.

A 5150 hold written by a peace officer is valid in any county in California; therefore, a person could theoretically be moved from one county to another according to available resources. When the 5150 hold is written by a designated clinician, the hold is only valid in that county. The designated clinician is only able to write a 5150 hold while present at the facility where they work, unless they work as part of a Psychiatric mobile response team.

Contesting the hold

The person under a 5150 hold has a limited ability to contest the legality of the hold. While the person has the right of demanding a writ of habeas corpus, it is up to the county public defender whether to file it or not. Since such a writ may take a day or two to file, the public defender usually chooses not to pursue it as the hold would expire before the anticipated court date.

5150 criteria

The criteria for writing requires probable cause. This includes danger to self, danger to others together with some indication, prior to the administering of the hold, of symptoms of a mental disorder, and/or grave disability—as noted below. The conditions must exist under the context of a mental illness.

  1. Danger to self: The person must be an immediate threat to themselves, usually by being suicidal. Someone who is severely depressed and wishes to die would fall under this category.
  2. Danger to others: The person must be an immediate threat to someone else's safety.
  3. Gravely disabled (W&I 5008(h)):
    1. Adult (patients over 18 years of age): The person's mental condition prevents him/her from being able to provide for food, clothing, and/or shelter, and there is no indication that anyone is willing or able to assist him/her in procuring these needs. This does not necessarily mean homeless, as a homeless person who is able to seek housing (even in a temporary shelter) when weather demands it would not fall under this category. Also, the mere lack of resources to provide food, clothing, or shelter is not dispositive; the inability must be caused by the psychiatric condition.
    2. Minor (patients under 18 years of age): The person is unable to provide for his/her food, clothing, and/or shelter or to make appropriate use of them even if these are supplied directly--for example, a psychotic adolescent who refuses to eat because he/she believes their parents are poisoning them.
  4. Mental disorder: Though undefined by statute or regulation, this is generally taken to refer to a diagnosis listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Page 14 of the LA County LPS Designation Manual states that the initiator must be able to articulate behavioral symptoms of a mental disorder either temporary or prolonged (People v. Triplett,(1983) 144 Cal. App. 3d 283).

Required documentation

Under WIC 5150-5157 there are two mandatory legal documents, the 5150 application itself and the patient advisement form as required by WIC 5157(c); the latter may be issued in the form of Form MH 303, Involuntary Patient Advisement.[6] The LA County LPS Designation Manual stipulates that, prior to the completion of the 5150 application, the initiator must conduct and document a face-to-face interview with the patient. On the 5150 application, the initiator is required to ..give sufficiently detailed information to support the belief that the person for whom evaluation and treatment is sought is in fact a danger to others, a danger to himself/herself and/or gravely disabled. The 5150 Application contains the words ...as a result of a mental disorder.. but does not stipulate documentation of evidence of ..behavioral symptoms of a mental disorder....., defined in People v. Triplett (1983) as a necessary part of probable cause. The 5150 Application requests no explicit documentation of the required face-to-face interview. WIC 5150-5157 does not stipulate mandatory documentation of paragraph two of WIC 5151 that requires that .. the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee shall assess the individual in person to determine the appropriateness of the involuntary detention.... Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendement to the US constitution, however, states that ...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. See due process and equal protection clause. Additionally, when patients who are placed on a 5150 hold for danger to self or danger to others, a notification is filed which results in the person losing the right to purchase or possess firearms for five years. This firearms prohibition may be appealed.

Patient rights while under section 5150

Patients admitted under section 5150 retain all rights under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Begins with WIC-5000) and under the Constitution and other laws. As citizens, patients do not lose their rights by being hospitalized or receiving services. With the exception of being able to freely leave the facility they are placed in, patients have all rights accorded to a voluntarily admitted client. Waivers signed by the patient, responsible relative, guardian, conservator cannot be used to deny a right. California Code of Regulations, Title 9 Section 865.2 (c); California Welfare & Institutions Code Section 5325.

Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 5325 and § 5325.1 codify the statutory patients' rights in California:

Undeniable Rights

Under California law, the following rights may never be denied (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 5325.1):

  • The right to treatment services which promote the potential of the person to function independently. Treatment should be provided in ways that are least restrictive of the personal liberty of the individual.
  • The right to dignity, privacy, and human care.
  • The right to be free from harm, including unnecessary or excessive physical restraint, isolation, medication, abuse, or neglect. Medication may not be used as punishment, for the convenience of staff, as a substitute for, or in quantities that interfere with the treatment program.
  • The right to prompt medical care and treatment.
  • The right to religious freedom and practice.
  • The right to participate in appropriate programs of publicly supported education.
  • The right to social interaction.
  • The right to physical exercise and recreational opportunities.
  • The right to be free from hazardous procedures.

Deniable rights with good cause

Psychiatric facilities must also uphold the following specific rights, which can be denied only when "good cause" exists (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 5325; 9 C.C.R. § 865.2):

  • The right to wear one's own clothing. (Although many 5150 designated facilities have large contraband lists, for example often times patients are not allowed to have shoelaces, wire bras, belts, hair-ties, or short tops).
  • The right to keep and use one's own personal possessions, including toilet articles, in a place accessible to the patient.
  • The right to keep and spend a reasonable sum of one’s money for small purchases.
  • The right to have access to individual storage space for one's own use.
  • The right to see visitors each day.
  • The right to have reasonable access to phones both to make and receive confidential calls.
  • The right to have access to letter-writing materials, including stamps.
  • The right to mail and receive unopened letters and correspondence.

When a right is denied, the reason given for denying the right must have some clear relationship to the right denied (9 C.C.R. § 865.2). Example: A patient is denied the right to keep his cigarettes (the right to keep and use personal possessions) because he is burning himself and lighting fires and lesser restrictive alternatives (1:1 supervision during smoking) have failed.

Additional Rights

Additionally, every mental health client has the right to see and receive the services of a Patients' Rights Advocate. All patients also have the following treatment rights:

  • The right to give or withhold informed consent to medical and psychiatric treatment, including the right to refuse medications (WIC-5325.2) except in emergency (W&I 5008 (m)) situations where danger to life is present; or by court order where the patient is found to lack the capacity to give or refuse informed consent via either a Capacity Hearing (see W&I 5332) and also known as a Riese hearing [7] or via conservatorship.
  • The right to refuse psychosurgery (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 5326.6).
  • The right to confidentiality (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 5328).
  • The right to inspect and copy the medical record, unless specific criteria are met (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1795).
  • The right to have family/friends notified of certain treatment information with patient's permission (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 5328.1).
  • The right to an aftercare plan (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 5622).

Good cause

Denying a patient's rights requires good cause. Good cause being defined as the belief of the professional in charge of care for the client that the specific right would cause

  1. a danger to self or others;
  2. a serious infringement on the rights of others; or
  3. serious damage to the facility;

and that there is no less restrictive measure that would protect against those occurrences.

Patient rights can not be denied as a condition of admission nor as part of a treatment plan such as being labeled a privilege or as punishment. Any time a right is denied under good cause it must be documented in the patient's medical record and explained to the patient. The denial must be reviewed regularly and must be removed once good cause no longer exists.

Without good cause

If a right was denied without good cause, a patient can instruct their appointed public defender to file an Ex Parte application with the court to restore a right that was denied without good cause. A hearing will be set and an opportunity to be heard by the judge concerning the merits of the case will be reviewed and he will determine if the right will continued to be denied or be restored. An Ex Parte can bring relief in a matter when a person is deprived of any interest in liberty or property without due process of law. [8]

  • The inside cover of Van Halen's 1986 album 5150 includes a photo where all the band members are in straitjackets. Eddie Van Halen would also name his home recording studio and a series of guitar amplifiers made by Peavey Electronics and later Fender after this code. It also appears taped behind the bridge of many of his guitars, most notably the legendary Kramer "5150" that served as his main guitar from the mid 80's to early 90's.
  • Luniz, an Oakland, CA rap duo, have a song entitled 5150 in which the following lyrics are sung: "5150, feel me, psycho disco just go looney."
  • 5150 is also the name of Eazy E's album 5150: Home 4 tha Sick, with the tagline "Considered armed, dangerous & temporarily insane".
  • TNA Wrestling faction LAX have 5150 on their shirts, and explained the meaning to the fans during an Impact! show.
  • Konnan a former TNA and WWE wrestler and former leader of the above LAX hosts a radio show on WrestleZone.com called 5150 Real Talk.
  • WWE wrestler Rey Mysterio's theme music contains the line "Too much damage/for one the manage/goin' 5150 speakin' Spanglish."
  • Ice Cube's song "Steal the Show", from the album Laugh Now, Cry Later, features the lyric "I just hope you ain't 5150, that's a crazy ho even though she pretty."
  • John Lee Hooker Junior's song "Cold As Ice" (from the album of the same name) laments: "I've been diagnosed as a 5150... I got mental disorder, that's a direct result of messing with that woman."
  • 5150 is the name of a song from The Definitive Act (album), by Tsunami Bomb
  • In the 1993 movie Tombstone, No. 5150 is written on the side of the train car Virgil Earp rides away in after having his left arm disabled by a bullet.
  • Following a January 3, 2008 custody dispute over her children with Kevin Federline's bodyguard, Britney Spears was taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and placed on a 5150 hold.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://a5150.wordpress.com/about/
  2. ^ See Form MH 302, California Department of Mental Health.
  3. ^ "LPS Designation Handbook" (pdf). Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. p. 7. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  4. ^ "Protection and Advocacy, Inc., Contracted by the State of California to advocate for involuntary persons, Hearing Options" (PDF). Retrieved 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help) 72-Hour Hold and Hearing Options
  5. ^ "5150 - One Who Flew Into The Cuckoo's Nest". Book on how 5150 has been implemented, actual court transcripts, hearing options
  6. ^ See Form MH 303, California Department of Mental Health.
  7. ^ "Riese hearing and history, involuntary medication". Kathi's Mental Health Reveiw
  8. ^ "5150 - One Who Flew Into The Cuckoo's Nest". Ex Parte actual court transcripts to restore rights
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