Smith v. Mississippi Dept. of Mental Health

Dr. Ralph Smith Jr. was arrested and indicted in a murder-for-hire plot in 2012. He was eventually committed to the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield, where he had been treated for mental illness. Soon after his arrival at Whitfield, the facility’s director recommended Dr. Smith’s illness required continual, involuntary treatment and that he should remain committed at the facility. Dr. Smith disagreed with the recommendation and has contested his commitment to Whitfield at every step. Most recently, Dr. Smith filed a habeas petition and motion for relief from the chancellor’s ruling that ordered his continued inpatient treatment. Dr. Smith argued he was improperly confined and should have been released immediately or discharged to an outpatient facility. The chancellor denied his petition and motion for relief. On appeal, Smith argued his habeas petition was wrongly denied and the Mississippi Department of Mental Health lacked standing to oppose his requests. The Mississippi Supreme Court found that during the pendency of this appeal, Dr. Smith was discharged from Whitfield to an outpatient facility. So the relief he requests in this appeal could no longer be granted; the Court thus dismissed his appeal as moot. View "Smith v. Mississippi Dept. of Mental Health" on Justia Law