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Docket No. 93608-Agenda 8-November 2002.

In re JAMES E. (The People of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. 
James E., Appellant).

Opinion filed May 22, 2003.

JUSTICE GARMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

The trial court found respondent to be subject to involuntaryadmission to a mental health facility and placed him in the custodyof the Department of Human Services. The appellate courtaffirmed, holding that, under the Mental Health andDevelopmental Disabilities Code (Code) (405 ILCS 5/1-100 etseq. (West 2000)), an individual may be subject to involuntarycommitment to a state mental health facility even though he hadinitially committed himself voluntarily to a private hospital andhad not requested in writing a discharge. No. 5-00-0607(unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23). We grantedrespondent's petition for leave to appeal (177 Ill. 2d R. 315) andnow affirm.

BACKGROUND

On September 5, 2000, respondent, a 20-year-old male, wasadmitted as a voluntary patient to the inpatient psychiatric unit ofSt. Clare's Hospital (St. Clare's), a private hospital in Alton,Illinois. Respondent was diagnosed with substance-inducedpsychotic disorder. This was respondent's first hospitalizationrelated to mental health services.

On September 8, 2000, respondent was transported to AltonMental Health Center (Alton) after staff at St. Clare's executed apetition for involuntary admission by emergency certificatepursuant to section 3-600 of the Code (405 ILCS 5/3-600 (West2000)). On September 11, 2000, the State filed a "Petition forInvoluntary/Judicial Admission" (petition) seeking to admitrespondent involuntarily. A second petition was filed the followingday. In the second petition, it was alleged that respondent wasmentally ill, that because of his mental illness he was reasonablyexpected to inflict serious physical harm upon himself or anotherin the near future, and that he was in need of immediatehospitalization to prevent such harm. The second petition statedthat respondent had been suspicious, paranoid, and delusional andclaimed to have been hearing the "Devil's voice." A knife, whichhe was going to use to "protect himself from his parents," hadapparently been taken away from him. Respondent refused to eator take his medication. The second petition also referred to arecent incident at a nearby college where respondent struckanother student because he thought the student was a threat to him.

The second petition was accompanied by a certificate from aqualified mental health examiner, as required by section 3-602 ofthe Code (405 ILCS 5/3-602 (West 2000)), in which the examinerindicated that he had examined respondent on September 8, at St.Clare's, and had determined that respondent was mentally ill. Theexaminer concluded that because of his mental illness he wasunable to provide for his basic needs so as to guard himself fromserious harm. The examiner found that respondent exhibited signsof acute psychosis. He had paranoid delusions that his parentswere going to kill him and was very preoccupied with religion,believing that he was fighting with the devil. Respondent refusedto comply with his treatment or medication and was a threat to hisparents.

A hearing on the State's petition was held on September 14,2000. Respondent's attorney stated that respondent was dischargedfrom St. Clare's because "he didn't want to take medication andbecause he would not have insurance coverage." Dr. Jim Belman,a licensed clinical psychologist at Alton, testified for the State. Dr.Belman testified that respondent had been diagnosed withsubstance-induced psychotic disorder. He reiterated the basic factssupporting the allegations contained in the second petition andaccompanying certificate, including that respondent heard thevoices of Satan and God talking in his head, refused medication,and refused to eat. Dr. Belman also testified regarding continuingproblems respondent was experiencing since being moved toAlton.

Prior to the hearing, respondent filed a "Motion to Strike andDismiss" the petition, arguing that the petition for involuntaryadmission was improper because it had not been preceded byrespondent's making a written request for discharge pursuant tocase law under section 3-403. After hearing the evidence, the trialcourt denied respondent's motion and found respondent to be aperson subject to involuntary admission. The appellate courtaffirmed and rejected respondent's argument that he could not beinvoluntarily admitted because he did not request in writing to bedischarged from St. Clare's.

ANALYSIS

The question presented in this appeal is one of law, which wereview de novo. Woods v. Cole, 181 Ill. 2d 512, 516 (1998). Weare asked to determine whether a hospital not owned and operatedby the State of Illinois can initiate a petition for involuntarycommitment against one of its voluntary mental health patients,who has not requested a discharge in writing, to facilitatetransferring the patient to a state facility. This issue requires anexamination of section 3-403 of the Code, which provides:

"A voluntary recipient shall be allowed to be dischargedfrom the facility at the earliest appropriate time, not toexceed 5 business days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays andholidays, after he gives any treatment staff person writtennotice of his desire to be discharged unless he eitherwithdraws the notice in writing or unless within the 5 dayperiod a petition and 2 certificates conforming to therequirements of paragraph (b) of Section 3-601 andSection 3-602 are filed with the court. Upon receipt of thepetition, the court shall order a hearing to be held within5 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and tobe conducted pursuant to Article IX of this Chapter.Hospitalization of the recipient may continue pendingfurther order of the court." 405 ILCS 5/3-403 (West2000).

We have had prior occasions to review section 3-403. In In reHays, 102 Ill. 2d 314 (1984), the 19-year-old respondentvoluntarily admitted himself to the psychiatric unit of MercyHospital in Urbana. He had been voluntarily admitted there onnine previous occasions over the previous four years. On the dayfollowing his admission, he refused to take medication, threw aphone at security guards, and became physically resistive. Afterbeing physically restrained, he told a nurse that he wanted to die.He was given medication and did not cause any furtherdisturbance. The hospital petitioned the trial court to have therespondent declared a person subject to involuntary admissionunder the Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 91