Steele v. Hamilton County Community Mental Health Board

The issue in this case is whether a probate court must find that an involuntarily committed mentally ill person is a danger to himself/herself or others before the court may issue an order permitting employees of the commitment facility to administer antipsychotic medication to the patient against his/her wishes. For the reasons that follow, we find that a court may issue an order permitting the administration of antipsychotic medication4 against a patient’s wishes without a finding that the patient is dangerous when the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the patient lacks the…