The Lanterman–Petris–Short (LPS) Act (Cal. Welf & Inst. Code, sec. 5000 et seq.) concerns the involuntary civil commitment to a mental health institution in the State of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The act set the precedent for modern mental health

Mental health

Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...

 commitment procedures in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was co-authored by California State Assemblyman Frank Lanterman (R) and California State Senators Nicholas C. Petris

Nicholas C. Petris

Nicholas C. Petris was a California State Senator from 1966 until 1996. A Democrat, he represented the 11th district from 1966 to 1976 and the 9th district from 1976 until he was termed out in 1996...

 (D) and Alan Short

Alan Short

Alan Short , born in San Francisco, was a third-generation Californian. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He attended local schools in Stockton, California and College of the Pacific and was a graduate of Hastings College of Law. He became Deputy District Attorney of San Joaquin County...

 (D), and signed into law in 1967 by Governor Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

. The Act went into full effect on July 1, 1972. It cited seven articles of intent:

• To end the inappropriate, indefinite, and involuntary commitment
  Involuntary commitment
  Involuntary commitment or civil commitment is a legal process through which an individual with symptoms of severe mental illness is court-ordered into treatment in a hospital or in the community ....
  
   of mentally disordered persons, people with developmental disabilities, and persons impaired by chronic alcoholism
  Alcoholism
  Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
  
  , and to eliminate legal disabilities;

• To provide prompt evaluation and treatment of persons with serious mental disorders or impaired by chronic alcoholism;

• To guarantee and protect public safety;

• To safeguard individual rights
  Rights
  Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory...
  
   through judicial review
  Judicial review
  Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary. Specific courts with judicial review power must annul the acts of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher authority...
  
  ;

• To provide individualized treatment, supervision, and placement services by a conservatorship program for gravely disabled persons;

• To encourage the full use of all existing agencies, professional personnel and public funds to accomplish these objectives and to prevent duplication of services and unnecessary expenditures;

• To protect mentally disordered persons and developmentally disabled persons from criminal acts.

The Act in effect ended all hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

 commitments by the judiciary system, except in the case of criminal sentencing, e.g., convicted sexual offenders

Sex offender

A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...

, and those who were "gravely disabled", defined as unable to obtain food, clothing, or housing [Conservatorship of Susan T., 8 Cal. 4th 1005 (1994)]. It did not, however, impede the right of voluntary commitments. It expanded the evaluative power of psychiatrist

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...

s and created provisions and criteria for holds.

Sections of LPS law

There are many sections and subsections of the LPS law. Some are commonly used in mental health setting. The full law can be viewed here: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=wic&codebody=&hits=20

5150

Initial involuntary 72-hour hold. Criteria may be one or all of the following: gravely disabled, danger to self and danger to others.

5250

Additional 14-day hold. Same criteria as 5150 hold (gravely disabled, danger to self or others)

Temporary conservatorship

Otherwise known as a T-Con, may be initiated at any time while a patient is on hold, but usually occurs during the time in which a patient is on a 30-day hold for Grave Disability. Once the patient is on a T-Con, the patient is no longer legally on a "hold," but is temporarily conserved pending the actual conservatorship hearing. T-Cons last a maximum of 30 days. When a patient is detained on either a 5250 (14-day hold) or a 5270 (30-day hold) they are entitled to a Probable Cause Hearing in which a determination is made whether the hold meets legal criteria (if the hold is not legal, the patient may be discharged if he or she wishes.) Once a patient is on a T-Con or an actual conservatorship, the person is no longer on a 14-day or 30-day hold, and therefore, has no right to a Probable Cause Hearing. If the patient wishes, while on a T-Con, he or she may request a writ of habeas corpus

Habeas corpus

is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...

. The individual will then be allowed to present a case in court, with the aid of a public defender, as to why he or she should not be on a T-Con and in the hospital.

See also

• California Mental Health Services Act
  California Mental Health Services Act
  In November 2004, voters in the U.S. state of California passed Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act , which has been designed to expand and transform California’s county mental health service systems by increasing the taxes of high income individuals...
  
  
• Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act
  Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act
  The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act , also known as the Lanterman Act, is a California law, initially proposed by Assemblymember Frank D. Lanterman in 1973 and passed in 1977, that gives people with developmental disabilities the right to services and supports that enable them to live a...
  
  
• 5150 (Involuntary psychiatric hold)
  5150 (Involuntary psychiatric hold)
  Section 5150 is a section of the California Welfare and Institutions Code which allows a qualified officer or clinician to involuntarily confine a person deemed to have a mental disorder that makes them a danger to him or her self, and/or others and/or gravely disabled...
  
  

External links

• LASuperiorCourt.org (pdf) – 'LPS Holds Chart', Los Angeles County Superior Court