Court Opinion

ID: 9741538
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:57:37.433945+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:24.633593
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE WELCH, dissenting: I respectfully dissent. It is true, as the majority points out, that section 3 — 603 of the Code (405 ILCS 5/3 — 603 (West 2002)) outlines the procedure whereby an individual may be detained pending a certificate (349 Ill. App. 3d at 443), and I believe that the State should be admonished for failing to comply strictly with that procedure in this case. However, I do not believe that the State’s failure to comply should result in a reversal under the circumstances of this case. It is clear from the record that the respondent was subject to involuntary admission on December 19, 2002. Accordingly, had the State complied with the requirements of section 3 — 603, the result would have been the same: the respondent would have been involuntarily admitted. I believe that under these circumstances, and given the respondent’s 28-year history of mental illness, the State’s responsibility to protect and care for individuals who are subject to involuntary admission, as well as to safeguard innocent bystanders who might suffer from the actions of released individuals who are subject to involuntary admission, outweighs any harm caused by the State’s failure to strictly comply with the procedures of section 3 — 603. Therefore, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s decision to reverse the circuit court.