Dignifying Madness: Rethinking Commitment Law in an Age of Mass Incarceration

52 Pages Posted: 17 Dec 2015

See all articles by Jonathan Steven Simon

Jonathan Steven Simon

University of California, Berkeley

Stephen A. Rosenbaum

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law; University of California, Berkeley - Othering & Belonging Institute (formerly Haas Institute for a Fair & Inclusive Society); University of Washington

Date Written: December 1, 2015

Abstract

Modern nation-states have been trapped in recurring cycles of incarcerating and emancipating residents with psychiatric disabilities. New cycles of enthusiasm for incarceration generally commence with well-defined claims about the evils of allowing “the mad” to remain at liberty and the benefits incarceration would bring to the afflicted. A generation or two later, at most, reports of terrible conditions in institutions circulate and new laws follow, setting high burdens for those seeking to imprison and demanding exacting legal procedures with an emphasis on individual civil liberties. Today, we seem to be arriving at another turn in the familiar cycle. A growing movement led by professionals and family members of people with mental health disabilities is calling for new laws enabling earlier and more assertive treatment.

Keywords: Involuntary Commitment, Outpatient Treatment, Involuntary Commitment, Mental Heath Law, Psychiatric Disability Law, Lanterman Petris, Short, Mass Incarceration

Suggested Citation

Simon, Jonathan Steven and Rosenbaum, Stephen A., Dignifying Madness: Rethinking Commitment Law in an Age of Mass Incarceration (December 1, 2015). University of Miami Law Review, Vol. 70, No. 1, 2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2704697

Jonathan Steven Simon

University of California, Berkeley ( email )

592 Simon Hall
Berkeley, CA CA 94720
United States
510.643.5169 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://linktr.ee/jssimon

Stephen A. Rosenbaum (Contact Author)

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law ( email )

Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States

University of California, Berkeley - Othering & Belonging Institute (formerly Haas Institute for a Fair & Inclusive Society) ( email )

Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

University of Washington ( email )

Seattle, WA 98195
United States

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