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Oklahoma Bar Journal

Peace of Mind With Involuntary Commitment for Veterans

By Matthew R. Price

Life takes a veteran through many experiences both during and after their service. Those experiences can take a toll on the mental health of a veteran. Sometimes, they come in contact with concerned family members, police or social services. These contacts may involve the veteran going to a Veterans Affairs hospital. When it does, the legal system is there to help. The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center treats roughly 75,000 veterans per year, with two-thirds of their patients having a mental health diagnosis.[1] Oklahoma veteran suicide rates were significantly higher than the national general population suicide rates and higher than the national average veteran suicide rates.[2]

Sometimes, the issues the veteran is dealing with are at a level of harm to themselves or others. At this point, hospital staff consider inpatient treatment. When a veteran requires inpatient mental health treatment and is either unable or unwilling to undergo treatment, physicians at the veteran’s local VA hospital will petition the state district court in the county where the hospital is located for involuntary commitment of the veteran.[3]

In determining if the veteran is to be involuntarily committed, the court could find a program other than hospitalization, such as an assisted outpatient treatment program, adequate to meet the treatment needs of the veteran and sufficient to prevent injury to the veteran or others.[4] This is the preferred method and is usually attempted by hospital staff prior to the request for hospitalization.

A physician will attach to the petition a mental evaluation containing the circumstances that brought the veteran to the facility, the issues the veteran is dealing with while at the facility and the ways in which less restrictive means have been tried to treat the veteran.[5]

The veteran, if they are able, may request a family member, friend or guardian be made aware of their detention.[6] Unfortunately, in many instances, the veteran – due to the nature of their condition – won’t be able to give this information. This makes the role of the attorney for the veteran an important position as a voice for the veteran’s rights and best interests.

The veteran is usually held at the facility by a prehearing detention order after the physician requests the veteran be detained prehearing and immediately sets the date, place and time for the veteran’s hearing.[7]

The veteran possesses several rights in regard to the hearing on the petition, including the right to notice; counsel at no expense to the veteran if determined to be indigent; a closed hearing; a jury trial; the right to be present at the hearing; and the right to cross-examine witnesses. The veteran is either represented by their own counsel they have hired, a public defender or an attorney specifically contracted with that county to represent individuals in involuntary commitment hearings.[8] The Department of Veterans Affairs is represented by a member of the U.S. Attorney’s Office or an in-house attorney for the VA.

At the hearing, the court must determine by clear and convincing evidence whether the veteran is a person requiring treatment. To do so, the court will take evidence and make findings of fact concerning the veteran's competency to consent to or refuse the treatment that may be ordered, including but not limited to the veteran's right to refuse medication.[9]

The attorney’s role is an advocate for the best interest of the veteran. Sometimes, that means the veteran needs mental health inpatient treatment. Other times, it means the veteran can make treatment decisions for themselves. The attorney for the veteran makes these determinations and advocates for what is in the veteran’s best interest at that hearing.

Individuals determined by the court to need treatment and be detained will be reviewed by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services at least once every three months and, at any time, can have a hearing within 30 days if requested by the veteran.[10]

While the statutes used for these commitments are the same for nonveterans, veterans have access to significant resources through the VA. The VA hospital staff’s priority is to help these veterans attain competency and secure services through the VA to discharge them from the hospital safely and get them back on their feet as soon as possible. Due to the availability of resources, even after involuntary commitment, veteran stays tend to only be a few days. The veteran is often assisted through these services, including payees for finances, long-term care facilities and prescribed medications that can assist the veteran in managing their conditions.

Access to these services is statewide in Oklahoma, with various clinics in a number of locations – Oklahoma City and Muskogee are able to handle more severe cases and treatment.[11] If a client is at significant risk for self-harm or harm to others, petitions will need to be filed within Oklahoma County or Muskogee County by the district attorney’s office or with the assistance of the district attorney’s office. Veterans in need of a higher level of care are typically sent to those two locations, with petitions following thereafter.

Involuntary commitments require attorneys to be advocates for clients who typically cannot make decisions for themselves in their best interest. Communicating with your client in a way that makes them understand their rights and feel safe is paramount. If treatment is in their best interest, help your client understand how the medication, therapy and other treatments will help them reach their goals, which is often to be discharged from the facility and to return to a normal life.

A person’s freedom is a sacred right and is enshrined in our Constitution and statutes. It is of the utmost importance that those who have served to protect those rights are themselves protected. An involuntary commitment can be a scary thing for anyone, but with an attorney speaking for the veteran’s best interests, the veteran will receive the help they need while the liberty they have fought for is preserved by the bar.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matthew R. Price is an attorney in Muskogee and a founding partner at Hammons Hamby & Price. He represents clients in criminal defense matters and is a criminal public defender for the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System in Muskogee, McIntosh and Sequoyah counties. Mr. Price serves as the involuntary commitment counsel and public guardian counsel in Muskogee County.

 

 

 


ENDNOTES

[1] https://bit.ly/3Wb8reF.

[2] https://bit.ly/3C4iThl.

[3] 43A O.S. §5-410.

[4] 43A O.S. §5-416.

[5] 43A O.S. §5-410.

[6] 43A O.S. §5-209(C).

[7] 43A O.S. §5-413.

[8] 43A O.S. §5-411.

[9] 43A O.S. §5-415.

[10] 43A O.S. §5-420.

[11] www.va.gov/oklahoma-city-health-care/locations.


Originally published in the Oklahoma Bar JournalOBJ 96 No. 2 (February 2025)

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.