Opinion ID: 201611
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Involuntary Commitment

Text: There can be no finding of state action under the public function test in connection with Estades' involuntary commitment. This is because involuntary commitment is not a function that is or has been reserved exclusively to the state in Puerto Rico, and therefore, Appellees, in pursuing or otherwise participating in Estades' commitment, could not have performed a public function within the meaning of this test. See P.R. Laws Ann. § 6001 et seq. (indicating that private parties have been intimately involved in the involuntary commitment process in Puerto Rico since 1980)17; see 16 The few activities that have been found to satisfy this demanding standard include the administration of elections, the operation of a company town, eminent domain, peremptory challenges in jury selection, and, in at least limited circumstances, the operation of a municipal park. Perkins, 196 F.3d at 19 (internal quotation marks omitted). When a plaintiff ventures [beyond this short list of activities], she has an uphill climb. Id. 17 For example, the statutory scheme governing involuntary commitment in Puerto Rico since 1980, 24 P.R. Laws Ann. § 6001 et seq., provides that: any person 18 years old or over may -17- also Jackson v. Metro. Edison Co., 419 U.S. 345, 352-53 (1974) (If we were dealing with the exercise by [Appellee] of some power delegated to it by the State which is traditionally associated with sovereignty, such as eminent domain, our case would be quite a different one.) cf. Bass, 180 F.3d at 243 (holding that involuntary commitment is not a function traditionally reserved exclusively to the state in Mississippi); Ellison, 48 F.3d at 196 (same in Tennessee); Rockwell, 26 F.3d at 258-60 (same in Massachusetts); Harvey, 949 F.2d at 1131 (same in Georgia); Spencer, 864 F.2d at 1379-81 (same in Illinois). Because involuntary commitment is a function that is and has been routinely performed by private parties in Puerto Rico, Estades' public function argument as it relates to involuntary commitment fails.