the issue before the court today is whether the power of attorney that was executed by craig age prior to going to mcfarlane little house on is valid and whether it should have been honored by mcfarlane in the court  honored there never would have been a hearing st of all it would have been no need for a hearing for medication under one o seventy one of the code and craig agent would not have been given medication against his will and less it fell under the emergency one hundred and seven type of medication he would have been like anyone else at mcfarland who had capacity to make decisions and if they refused the medication they would not have given him the medication craig executed the appeal way in two thousand and thirteen and he named his mom as his agent and the short form for the peel away for health care can be limited so a person can say i don't want you make making  psychiatric decisions for me i don't want to do x i don't want to do why craig did no such thing craig allowed his mom all of the rights that were listed essentially in the power of attorney for health care which includes medicated pursuant to an order his name dave was about a month after the hearing so i would assume that he was medicated for that month until the  saying that instead of one of seven point one being a way to medicate someone who has no capacity and does not have a p r way or a little health declaration the state chose to read that as those three things do people and the hospital could just choose which of those they wanted to use to medica the flip side of any decision making is the right not only to consent to medication but you can refuse so the state basically said that the court could choose the hospital to choose either of this is a matter of public policy a person should be able was at imminent risk of serious harm to himself or someone else so even if a person has the capacity you can use one of seven to address those behaviors under those circumstances bu can't have the same behaviors the diagnosis as correct she would not bring him to court she would allow him to refuse the difference here is there's a substitute decision maker who should be allowed to step in t hospitals the right to medicate someone if they are at imminent risk of serious harm to themselves or someone else and no lesser restrictive means are available so if these people who have cassidy and are refusing could not treat him under those circumstances unless they could somehow show that him eating the paper put him at imminent risk of bodily harm to himself probably not someone else in that scenario but no they could not treat him people are allowed to be mentally ill they're allowed to be mentally ill in the world they're allowed to have bizarre behaviors out the world they're allowed to have bizarre behaviors in a mental health treatment center so the only way you forever unfortunately for years and i'm not sure under the criminal code i do know that for a misdemeanor that would maybe be up to a year in jail if they are found unfit close to that year rights and the power of attorney law says they lose their rights and they don't get medicaid if they choose to refuse and if their power of attorney agent refuses it's the same as if they refuse people  have to frustrate his prosecution if he doesn't take medication and the doctors believe the medication will help him he may not ever achieve that and the doctors then would have to report to the court this guy is not retain fitness what do you want to do with them many times they'll drop the cases and seek to have that person committed separately but it doesn't mean that we can throw people in there who have not illinois rejected the notion that we can have different criteria for just making someone fit so in illinois there has to be a reason it has to be to treat the mental illness not to make trumps everything he could still be healthy he could still be found to be not guilty by reason of insanity and placed in a mental institution for years instead of in the criminal system so there are there are things that he done a is true but here all we're talking about is what does one of seven point one allow and does the power of attorney for health care law count when you're mentally ill does it matter and in craig's case it did and in many other cases though as dr testified someone in his shoes a forensic patient who had his own capacity could still refuse because it's so invasive to force someone to take dangerous drugs very invasive and that should be paramount to getting someone that for a trial the person integrity is so important and it shouldn't be something that we do just to see if someone can be ok for a trial down the road it was not like  that in some ways you know the doctors will test will tell you they don't know how it's going to happen husband were with the purpose of appeal a peel away is to allow an individual to place someone they trust necessarily only you can get or be a way for suicide you can get appeal you can have a pure way to do something that would be illegal but you can't have appeal way for example appear way makes the decision that they think they're their principal would want made people refuse medication for all kinds of reasons people maybe don't trust doctors people have this this lady had seen her son for years and years go through different medications she'd seen his friends go through different medications and saw what happened to them so she had a very strong opinion about psychotropic medication and she and her son did not want to be on those should pray to be singled out and not have been able to rely on a power of attorney for healthcare it's interesting that the state early below said that it's a laundry list essentially that you could seventy one binding in this case was a jury but by the decision maker that those people are that person doesn't know this principle doesn't have a background with them doesn't isn't going to have an ongoing relationship and so they are not the same they're lesser than the person who has been chosen to make decisions on his behalf and either the power of attorney for health care law means what it says and craig age and other mentally ill people like him count on it or doesn't and we argue that it does it means what it says he has the right to make that she should have the right to make that decision for him seventeen point one specifically incorporates references to powers of attorney in people holding however the statute does not state anywhere that the person holding a power of attorney has the right or th better if you allow the mother to serve any authority or power that the state may have to bring this individual this defended in compliance with the statute to allow that individual to be declared to stand treatment unless the recipient of that treatment is deemed to be incompetent to make a decision for himself if he is competent and he wishes to suffer with illness i think he probably has that domino blinds finally stop it and that's why i think the power tree was recognized by the legislature was understood by the legislature and it was not required to have to be always permission to go conflict mother holding the power turning has received a copy of the petition she has been made aware of the date and time period she's invited to come forward to give testimony as to what she feels her son would have wanted a person who has to pass it to the forensic patient is not dragged into court to answer for that as the state is saying that pretty just peel away should be dragged into court to somehow just get some testimony and justify her decision probably really whole process not have people other people who are in the same position don't have to do that to her mind to be notified and right to express which she believed to be the wishes of her son as her son's our attorney that was true but we don't make the people who are in his same position with same behaviors come to court and explain their reasoning explain why they made the decision they did we don't do that and the only people that they did that to is craig age because they're  very well but the analogy was you know the state has an interest in making these folks fit for trial there are a lot of friends of patients at mcfarland who have capacity to either agree to medication or refuse and does not do that she doesn't make them come to court and explain themselves and just even believe that create a check the past the what your position is the power of attorney and its capacity and that person is stepping in  his shoes so are you really comparing apples to apples yes it's decision maker to decision maker an incredible case the decision maker that he put in place put in his own shoes via the power of attorney law that assured him that it would be honored and that doctors would not have any liability for the treatment they gave or did not give because of  out dismantled they could go to court and say that this that person is not making decisions in my patient's best interest they could try to get her removed that's what you need to do not just allege we don't like what the mom saying we don't like the decision she saying therefore we're going to ignore everything they did not do what they needed to do if they really truly thought that she was not able to make that decision and not capable then they should have done that they should've gone and gotten her removed they