Disability Rights New Jersey, Inc. v. Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Human Services

OPINION OF THE COURT

HARDIMAN, Circuit Judge.

These cross-appeals require us to decide whether mentally ill residents of New Jersey who have been committed to state custody are entitled to judicial process before they may be forcibly medicated in nonemergency situations. At issue is Administrative Bulletin 5:04B, a procedure regulating the forcible administration of psychotropic drugs in New Jersey psychiatric hospitals, and its validity under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the United States Constitution. The District Court held that AB 5:04B is valid, except as to patients who have…