Mental Health Law and Public Policy

Abstract

Litigation has been a successful strategy in securing rights for the mentally ill. After early victories, however, limits of litigation began to emerge; implementation of court orders raised many policy questions. The translation of broad rights into complex public policy has led directly to the legislative and administrative policy processes, as can be seen with the proposed Mental Health Systems Act. The author uses the evolution of Title 3, a rights and advocacy amendment of the proposed act, as a case study in the formation of public policy.