Mental Health Matters

Respondent appealed from the judgment of the circuit court involuntarily committing him to emergency inpatient admission and involuntarily administrating psychotropic medication. Respondent argued that the petition for involuntary admission and the petition for involuntary medication were heard in the same hearing in violation of section 2-107.1 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. Respondent also argued that the State failed to file the required pre-dispositional report and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The appellate court reversed the judgment of the trial court, finding that the trial court’s allowance of combined testimony for both petitions was in violation of the Code and was reversible error. The appellate court also found that the failure to produce a pre-dispositional report was also error, but that it was harmless under the circumstances. (McLAREN and JORGENSEN, concurring)

Plaintiff appealed from a circuit court order entered under section 2-615 dismissing his complaint that alleged the defendants, who were his attorneys in an underlying medical malpractice action, violated the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act when they issued a press release and spoke with the media after a successful jury trial. The appellate court reversed and remanded, finding that defendant sufficiently alleged a cause of action under the Act because the information defendants allegedly disclosed was protected by a prior version of the Act. (CUNNINGHAM and DELORT, concurring)