Thomas S. v. Morrow

BUTZNER, Senior Circuit Judge:

The primary issue in this appeal is whether the district court properly applied the principles explained in Youngberg v. Romeo, 457 U.S. 307, 102 S.Ct. 2452, 73 L.Ed.2d 28 (1982). In Youngberg the Court recognized that a patient in a state mental institution has a right to “adequate food, shelter, clothing, and medical care.” *369457 U.S. at 315, 102 S.Ct. at 315. Young-berg also established that a mentally retarded person involuntarily committed to a state institution retains liberty interests secured by the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment in…