J-S60029-19
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
IN THE INTEREST OF: M.G. IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
OF PENNSYLVANIA
APPEAL OF: M.G.
No. 1142 MDA 2019
Appeal from the Order Entered June 25, 2019
In the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County
Civil Division at No: 19-2142
BEFORE: SHOGAN, STABILE, and PELLEGRINI,* JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY STABILE, J.: FILED JANUARY 27, 2020
Appellant, M.G., appeals from the June 25, 2019 order directing him to
undergo involuntary inpatient treatment pursuant to § 303 of the Mental
Health Procedures Act (“MPHA”), 51 P.S. § 7303, 1976 P.L. 817, as amended.
We affirm.
The trial court recited the pertinent facts in its Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a)
opinion:
[State Correctional Institution (“SCI”)] Rockview
psychiatrist, Dr. Rashid Chaudry, M.D., testified that Appellant
suffers from Unspecified Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder, and
has not taken his prescribed medication, Zyprexa. Appellant was
referred to the Mental Health Unit at SCI-Rockview after he
attempted to commit suicide while at [SCI] Phoenix. Appellant
has had multiple suicide attempts in the past, and Dr. Chaudry
testified that any future suicide attempts could be more lethal than
the last. At the time of the hearing, personnel at the Mental Health
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* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
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Unit were still trying to assess Appellant because Appellant denied
he attempted suicide, denied his history of mental illness, and was
not willing to be forthcoming with information regarding his recent
or past suicide attempts. Dr. Chaudry concluded Appellant was a
danger to himself.
Trial Court Opinion, 9/6/19, at 3.
In the suicide attempt at issue, prison authorities found string hanging
from a vent in Appellant’s cell. N.T. Hearing, 6/17/19, at 12. Appellant
testified that he did not intend to attempt to hang himself, and that the string
may have been left there by cell’s prior occupant. Id. at 12-13.
Section 303, as pertinent here, authorizes involuntary emergency
treatment for a person already subject to treatment under § 3021 whenever
the necessary treatment is likely to extend beyond 120 hours. 51 P.S.
§ 7303(a). To impose involuntary treatment under Section 303, the trial court
must find by clear and convincing evidence that the subject is severely
mentally disabled. In re S.B., 777 A.2d 454, 456 (Pa. Super. 2000). Section
301 of the MHPA provides that a person is severely mentally disabled when,
among other things, he is a clear and present danger to himself:
(2) Clear and present danger to himself shall be shown by
establishing that within the past 30 days:
[…]
(ii) the person has attempted suicide and that there is the
reasonable probability of suicide unless adequate treatment is
afforded under this act. For the purposes of this subsection, a clear
and present danger may be demonstrated by the proof that the
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1 51 P.S. § 7302. Appellant does not dispute that he was subject to treatment
under § 7302.
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person has made threats to commit suicide and has committed
acts which are in furtherance of the threat to commit suicide[.]
51 P.S. § 7301(b)(2)(ii). On appeal, we must determine whether the record
adequately supports the trial court’s findings. Commonwealth ex rel.
Gibson v. DiGiacinto, 439 A.2d 105, 107 (Pa. 1981).
The record in this case confirms that Appellant has attempted suicide on
multiple occasions, and Dr. Chaudry opined that Appellant was likely to
succeed unless he was treated. Regardless of Appellant’s denials, and his
claim that he was not responsible for the string hanging from the vent in his
cell, the record plainly supports the trial court’s order.
We have reviewed the parties’ briefs, the applicable law, the record of
the June 7, 2019 hearing, and the trial court’s opinion. We affirm the order
based on the trial court’s well-reasoned opinion. We direct that a copy of that
opinion be filed along with this memorandum.
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 01/27/2020
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