Court Order Authorizing Involuntary Meds Overturned

U.S. v. Morrison, 2005 WL 1672224 (7/19/05) - The 10th overturns a court order authorizing involuntary administration of psychotropic medication to render the defendant competent. The d.ct. erred by failing to first evaluate whether it is appropriate to medicate the defendant to ensure the defendant's safety or the safety of others under Washington v. Harper, 494 U.S. 210 (1990), before applying the 4-part test established in Sell v. U.S., 539 U.S. 169 (2003), regarding using medication to make a defendant competent. Sell required the d.ct. to apply the tests in that order. The Harper analysis is a more straightforward analysis and will throw light on the Sell analysis, even if the Harper test doesn't justify forced medication. The 10th strongly hinted perhaps the government's interest in pursuing the prosecution was low, since the defendant had already spent about as much time as he would spend incarcerated as he would have to serve if convicted, and he appeared to have a strong insanity defense to the charge of sending threatening letters.