In Re Applications for the Commitment of Sl

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

HANDLER, J.

The nine consolidated cases before us focus our attention on the plight of individuals who have been committed.in mental institutions for most of their adult lives. In seven of the cases, a court determined that after decades in mental hospitals the appellants were no longer committable, although they remained incapable of carrying on an independent and self-sufficient life. In the two remaining cases, appellants argued unsuccessfully that their situations were similar. Together these eases require us to determine the legal status of…