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Civil commitment order justified entry

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Civil commitment order justified officers' entry to take custody of plaintiff under the Fourth Amendment. Montgomery v. Morgan County, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15846 (S.D. Ind. February 29, 2008): Other federal courts have found no Fourth Amendment violation in connection with forced entries carried out in order to enforce civil orders related to the commitment of the mentally infirm. In McCabe v. Life-Line Ambulance Service, Inc., 77 F.3d 540 (1st Cir. 1996), an elderly woman died as she was being removed from her home after a forced entry by city police officers and an ambulance crew. The forced entry was made to execute a ten-day involuntary commitment order or "pink paper," which is issued in Massachusetts after an expert medical finding that the person poses a likelihood of potential serious harm...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 05, 2008 (boomark / email).