Title: In the Interest of: AM v. The STATE of Wyoming

State: wyoming

Issuer: Wyoming Supreme Court

Document:

In the Interest of: AM v. The STATE of Wyoming1985 WY 22694 P.2d 734Case Number: C-84-5Decided: 02/01/1985Supreme Court of Wyoming
In the Interest of: AM. 

 
 
AM, Appellant (Respondent), 

 
 
v.

 

The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee 
(Petitioner)

Appeal from the District 
CourtofCampbellCounty, The 
Honorable Paul T. Liamos, Jr., Judge.

 Steven R. 
Czoschke, of Sheehan, Stevens & Sansonetti, Gillette, for Appellant.A. G. McClintock, 
Attorney General, Gerald A. Stack, Deputy Attorney General, John W. Renneisen, 
Senior Assistant Attorney General, Sylvia Lee Hackl, Assistant Attorney General, 
and Patrick M. O'Connell, Deputy Campbell County Attorney, for Appellee. Thomas, C.J., and Rose, Rooney, Brown, and 
Cardine, JJ. 

PER 
CURIAM

 
 

[¶1.]     An application for 
involuntary hospitalization of appellant was filed in this case on October 1, 
1984. At the time the application was filed, appellant was being held in 
emergency detention at the CampbellCountyMemorialHospital. Counsel was appointed to 
represent appellant by order of the court dated October 1, 1984, and a 
preliminary hearing was set for October 2, 1984 at 2:00 p.m. The parties 
appeared, and the court announced it would treat the preliminary hearing as a 
hearing on the involuntary hospitalization application. Appellant's counsel 
objected to the proceeding. The hearing was conducted and, at the conclusion, 
the court found appellant to be mentally ill and ordered that he be 
involuntarily hospitalized in the WyomingStateMental Hospital in Evanston, Wyoming.[¶1.]     This court, in 
Thoeming v. District Court of the Sixth Judicial District, Wyo., 379 P.2d 543, 544 (1963), stated:

"Any attempt to adjudicate a person as an 
'incompetent' without compliance with the statutes contained in this chapter 
would be a deprivation of due process."

and

"It is elementary that proceedings for adjudication 
of insanity or mental incompetency are required to be in strict compliance with 
statutory requirements. In the absence of such compliance a judgment declaring a 
person to be of unsound mind is void." (Citation omitted.)

 [¶2.]     Section 25-10-109(h) 
and (k), W.S.1977, provide in pertinent parts:

"(h) When a person is detained in emergency detention 
and an application for involuntary hospitalization is filed, the court shall 
appoint an attorney to represent the detained person * * * * and the court shall 
conduct a hearing within thirty-six (36) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and 
holidays, of the initial detention to determine whether continued detention is 
required pending involuntary hospitalization proceedings.   * * * 
*"(k) The court shall determine by a preponderance of the evidence 
whether the emergency situation which led to detention of the person still 
exists."

In the event the court determines that the emergency 
situation still exists, the court may order continued detention not to exceed 
ten days. Provision is then made for a hearing upon the application for 
involuntary hospitalization in accordance with § 25-10-110, 
W.S.1977.[¶3.]     The hearing required 
within thirty-six hours to determine the necessity of continued detention was 
never held. The hearing upon the application for involuntary hospitalization was 
not in accordance with the requirements of § 25-10-110, W.S.1977. The trial 
court's finding that appellant was "mentally ill" and its subsequent order for 
involuntary hospitalization is, therefore, reversed and this case remanded for 
further proceedings consistent with this opinion.