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The application of civil commitment law and practices to a case of delusional disorder: a cross‐national comparison of legal approaches in the United States and the United Kingdom
Author(s) -
Fennell Philip,
Goldstein Robert Lloyd
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.717
Subject(s) - harm , commission , law , value (mathematics) , delusional disorder , political science , constructive , criminology , psychiatry , psychology , medicine , computer science , psychosis , process (computing) , machine learning , operating system
Legal approaches to civil commitment in the United States and the United Kingdom are compared. A concise overview of the historical evolution of civil commitment in both countries precedes a discussion of the present scheme of commitment standards in each system. These current standards in U.S. and U.K. jurisdictions are then applied to a hypothetical case of delusional disorder. A discussion of the constructive use of civil commitment in patients with delusional disorder who may be dangerous focuses on its value as a preventive measure against potential harm to self or others, as well as the pros and cons of coercive assessment and treatment. Despite the many differences in approach to commitment, the authors concur that in both countries the patient with delusional disorder was committable before the commission of a serious criminal offense. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.