Cruz v. Ward

With all due deference to my colleagues, the majority opinion has glossed over the clear implication of the record that responsible officials at the Matteawan State Hospital have regularly returned mentally ill patients to prison for punitive reasons, to languish in solitary confinement without even a semblance of medical care. Reasoning on the basis of a critical and unwarranted factual misapprehension, my brothers conclude that the State of New York need not adopt standards and minimal procedural safeguards to assure in the future that de-certification is recommended solely for medical…