Powell v. Maryland Department of Health

Fredia Powell, et al. v. Maryland Department of Health, et al. No. 77, September Term 2016 Civil Procedure – Mootness – Issue Capable of Repetition, Yet Evading Review. Appellants were criminal defendants who had been found incompetent to stand trial and were committed for treatment at a psychiatric hospital. None of them was admitted to the hospital by the deadline specified in their commitment orders. They collectively brought suit challenging that delay as a violation of the statute authorizing their commitment and of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. However, each of the Appellants had…