Opinion

Michael E. L. v. County of San Diego

  • 183 Cal. App. 3d 515
  • 228 Cal. Rptr. 139
Court
California Court of Appeal
Filed
Jul 18, 1986
Status
Published
Author
Work
On the bench
Butler, Staniforth
Cited by
9 cases

The opinion

*532 WORK, J., Concurring.

Although I have concurred in the lead opinion, I write separately to specifically address one portion of Justice Staniforth’s thoughtful dissent.

The dissent posit of an equal protection specter misses the analytical boat. The voluntariness or involuntariness of the commitment does meaningfully differentiate as to the legal issue in this case. The dissent suggests the affected classes are those victims who are damaged by acts of the persons released, one being allowed to sue the releasing authority where the commitment was voluntary, and another barred from doing so where the commitment was involuntary. However, the fact is that releasing authorities have no control over voluntarily committed patients. Those persons may sign out at will. There is no “release” which is subject to the discretionary control of the housing facility. The involuntarily committed may only be released in accordance with statutory guidelines, one of which is the discretion of staff. The departure of a voluntary patient imposed no liability on staff for an improvident release while, in the absence of statutory immunity, liability could be established on proper facts where the patient is subject to nonconsensual confinement. Considered in light of the legal authorities in the two situations, the relevant legal classes are distinct and different.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.