B.A.A. v. Chief Medical Officer, University of Iowa Hospitals

LAVORATO, Justice.

This appeal presents us with the issue of whether a psychiatric patient may be forced to continue in involuntary commitment when the patient is no longer as “seriously mentally impaired” as the Iowa Code requires for the initial commitment. 1

The chief medical officer of the University of Iowa Hospitals argues that once a patient has been involuntarily committed because of a serious mental impairment, a lesser impairment is sufficient to continue commitment against the patient’s challenge. Bryan, the patient here, contends the Code requires the same degree of impairment for…