Pre-Commitment Investigation

What is Civil Commitment?

Civil commitment is a process in which a judge decides whether a person alleged to be mentally ill should be required/ordered to accept mental health treatment. The State of Oregon has a set of laws and procedures to cover situations when a person is behaving in a way that appears to require inpatient psychiatric hospitalization for the person’s own safety or for the safety of the community. However, the court values a person’s civil rights and liberties therefore the bar to meet criteria for civil commitment is very high.

To pursue civil commitment there needs to be imminent danger to self, others, or inability to care for self and there must be a nexus (direct connection) between the individual’s mental illness and their dangerousness. There needs to be behavioral evidence (not solely threats) that supports imminent danger to self or others.

“Imminent” is defined as that it is highly probable this individual or someone else will likely die or be seriously injured in the near future.

How is a Civil Commitment Investigation initiated?

As far as initiating the pre-commitment process, we need a Notice of Mental Illness (NMI), to be submitted to the court, to initiate the pre-commitment investigation (such as a Two-Party Petition, Physician’s Hold, Director’s Hold or a Magistrate’s Order). Once Linn County Mental Health (LCMH) has an NMI then a Pre-commitment Investigator (PCI) will be assigned to the case and will start the investigation. For Director’s Holds, Physician Holds and Magistrate Orders the pre-commitment investigation must be completed in 5 judicial days (holidays and weekends don’t count). For Two Party Petitions the pre-commitment investigation must be completed in 14 calendar days.

How can I initiate a Pre-commitment Investigation?

You can submit a Two-Party Petition. Any two people, with first hand knowledge, of the alleged mentally ill person’s mental disorder and their concerns of imminent danger can complete a Petition. You can use the link below to print the petition or pick a Petition up at LCMH. Both petitioners will need to bring the completed Petition to LCMH, with their valid ID’s, to have the Petition notarized (at no cost).

What happens when a Civil Commitment petition has been filed?

When a civil commitment petition has been filed, a pre-commitment investigator (PCI) from the Community Mental Health Program (CMHP) LCMH investigates the need for the commitment. Depending on the investigator’s decision:

The case may be dismissed without a hearing,
The person may go into a diversion program, or
A hearing may be held.

What happens at a Civil Commitment Hearing?

If a hearing is held, the person will be appointed a lawyer and witnesses will testify. If the person is in custody, the attending psychiatrist will testify. There will be an independent mental health examiner who will give an independent recommendation to the judge as to whether they believe the person is mentally ill and what commitment criteria they believe has been met or not met. Then the judge then makes a decision whether the person should be committed.

What is the criteria for a Judge to order Civil Commitment?

A person can be committed if the judge finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person has a mental disorder and, because of that mental disorder, is:

Imminently dangerous to self or others, or
Unable to provide for basic personal needs like health and safety.

A person can also be committed if the judge finds that the person is:

Diagnosed as having a major mental illness such as schizophrenia or manic-depression, and
Has been committed and hospitalized twice in the last three years, is showing symptoms or behavior similar to those that preceded and led to a prior hospitalization and,
Unless treated, will continue, to a reasonable medical probability, to deteriorate to become a danger to self or others or unable to provide for basic needs.

What happens if a person is committed?

If the person is committed, the person may be hospitalized or may be required to undergo treatment in some other setting. The individual is committed to the Oregon Health Authority for a period of up to 180 days of treatment. The PCI assigned to the case will monitor the entirety of an individual’s commitment.

Will a person spend the whole 180 days in a hospital?

Not typically. When the mentally ill person is stable, no longer actively psychotic, or does not pose an imminent threat to self or others, the person may be discharged from the hospital and receive treatment in another facility or in the community. The principle that applies is that treatment is to occur in the least restrictive setting possible. Involuntary hospitalization very often lasts for only a few days before the person is ready to continue treatment in a less restrictive environment.

Will civil commitment go on a person’s criminal record?

A civil commitment is not a criminal conviction and will not go on a criminal record.

What do we do if there are concerns for imminent danger and we are concerned about the timeframe an investigation can take?

If there are immediate concerns of imminent danger, we would recommend getting the individual to the Emergency Department or calling 911. Let them know you believe individual is a person with a mental disorder and what your concerns for imminent danger are. You can also, simultaneously submit a Two-Party Petition, to initiate the Pre-commitment investigation in addition to taking the individual to the hospital.

To print the Two-Party Petition paperwork, see below: