title: Therapeutic jurisprudence and outpatient commitment law: Kendra's Law and case study.
abstract: This article considers the implications of assisted outpatient commitment laws (OPC), with specific focus on New York's "Kendra's Law" through the lens of therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ). In this article, the author offers perspectives on the relationship between involuntary civil commitment, outpatient commitment, and the concept of the "least restrictive alternative"; considers pertinent empirical research, and looks at OPC's controversial relationship to forced drugging. Here, the civil libertarian critique is briefly considered, as well as the MacArthur Research Network research. Finally, the author looks closely at Kendra's Law, providing a brief overview of the law itself, and identifying some "pressure points" and pivotal issues, and considers the TJ implications of Kendra's Law, to determine how it "fits" into the public's "take" on all of mental disability law.
authors.affiliation: New York Law School, 57 Worth Street, New York, NY 10013, USA. mperlin@nyls.edu
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Perlin
mesh_terms: D002961:Civil Rights; D003068:Coercion; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D009518:New York; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs