Steinkruger v. Miller

[¶ 1.] Are South Dakota’s forced medication statutes unconstitutional because they fail to require that mental patients be given the least restrictive treatment alternative? The circuit court found that there was no less intrusive alternative available in this case. We conclude that our statutes comport with constitutional constraints by incorporating the least restrictive alternative requirement for incompetent, involuntarily committed patients and affirm the circuit court’s order for forced medication.

A

[¶ 2.] DeWayne Miller, age fifty-seven, currently resides at the South Dakota Human…