NCJ Number
81336
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 5 Issue: 4 Dated: (1981) Pages: 275-289
Date Published
1981
Length
15 pages
Annotation
All mention of specific types and dimensions of dangerous behavior given by witnesses in 414 civil commitment hearings of allegedly dangerous mentally ill adults in one State was recorded to see how such evidence affects court decisions.
Abstract
Involuntary civil commitment hearings were observed from March through August 1979 throughout North Carolina. Using an extensive checklist, two researchers at each hearing independently recorded the content of statements by lawyers, judges, and witnesses. The checklist focused on the mention of any five dimensions (type, frequency, recency, severity, and object) of behavior that might be considered dangerous. A positive association between involuntary commitment and evidence of dangerous behavior, as defined by apellate courts, was found. Commitments increased with movement up a continuum of action and physical harm and with recency and recurrency. Much of the variance in involuntary commitment is explained by court concern with substantive justice (i.e., the effort of the court to move beyond the rigid, formal legal process and consider the 'whole person'). Defining dangerousness with behavioral criteria and requiring testimony of the behaviors in court could serve to improve the substance of 'substantive justice.' Footnotes, tables, and 33 references are given.