Legal Neglect of the Mentally Ill
NEIL L. CHAYET LL.B.1
1 Practicing attorney, Chayet and Flash, 15 Court Sq., Boston, Mass. 02108, faculties of Boston University Law School and Tufts University Medical and Dental Schools and is legal advisor to the superintendent of Boston State Hospital and consultant in forensic psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital
Despite the increasing availability of legal services to the poor, the mentally ill remain excluded from such benefits. Once an individual has been committed to an institution, the law makes little provision for the protection of his legal and civil rights. This author examines the issues of involuntary commitment, what procedures should be employed, and what safeguards must be taken to preserve the rights of the committed person. He cites illustrations from the proposed revision of the laws governing involuntary hospitalization in Massachusetts.
