Alfred Crawford Daniel Carrasco Jerry Parker v. Russell S. Gould William Mayer, (Two Cases)

Opinion by Judge TANG; Concurrence by Judge TROTT.

TANG, Senior Circuit Judge:

The named plaintiffs in this action filed suit on behalf of a class consisting of all current and future patients involuntarily committed to California state psychiatric hospitals.1 The plaintiffs challenge the defendants’ practice of deducting patients’ money, including Social Security benefits, from the personal deposit accounts maintained for each patient, to reimburse hospitals for the cost of patient care and maintenance.

Defendants, the Secretary of the California Health and Welfare Agency et al. (“California”),…