HOWARD WESTLAKE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Howard Westlake appealed his involuntary commitment under Florida's Baker Act after he had already been released from the facility. The court dismissed the appeal as moot, following Florida Supreme Court precedent that prior release moots constitutional challenges to commitment orders absent collateral legal consequences.
The appeal is dismissed as moot. Following Florida Supreme Court precedent in State v. Kinner, prior release from commitment renders an appeal moot unless there are collateral legal consequences (such as restrictions on voting rights, jury service, or licenses). Social stigma alone, without legal consequences, is insufficient to preserve the case.
[1] An appeal from an involuntary commitment order is moot when the individual has been released from commitment.
[2] The possibility of social stigma alone does not prevent an appeal from an involuntary commitment order from being moot.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Mr. Kinner's release makes the second issue, whether the evidence supported his confinement, moot. We, therefore, need not make a decision as to the findings of fact of the trial court.”
Establishes the precedent from State v. Kinner that prior release moots appellate review of commitment proceedings
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWestlake was subject to an involuntary commitment order dated February 16, 1983, for a period not to exceed six months under section 394.467, Florida …
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COBB, Judge.
This is an appeal by Howard Westlake from an involuntary commitment proceeding under section 394.467, Florida Statutes (Supp.1982). The appealed order for involuntary placement is dated February 16, 1983, and shows on its face that Westlake’s commitment was “for a period not to exceed six (6) months.”
The Florida Supreme Court previously has upheld the constitutionality of such a proceeding. In re Beverly, 342 So. 2d 481 (Fla.1977). Subsequently, in State v. Kinner, 398 So. 2d 1360 (Fla.1981), an attack was made on the constitutionality of section 393.063(22), Florida Statutes (1977), which defines the term “Retardation” as used in the Baker Act; a question was also raised as to the sufficiency of the evidence to support confinement. After finding the challenged statute constitutional, the court said:
Mr. Kinner’s release makes the second issue, whether the evidence supported his confinement, moot. We, therefore, need not make a decision as to the findings of fact of the trial court.
398 So. 2d at 1363.
The issue of mootness in the instant case is governed, by reason of stare decisis, by the Florida Supreme Court’s holding in Kin-ner. When queried by the appellate panel at oral argument as to the issue of mootness in the instant case, given the prior release of Westlake, counsel for the appellant urged this court that the case should not be considered as moot because of the stigma attached to an involuntary commitment for treatment of mental illness.
Although such stigma was judicially recognized by at least one federal court as the basis for determining the proper quantum of proof to be applied to civil commitment proceedings, that same court relied on the possibility of collateral legal, not social, consequences as a basis for rejecting the mootness argument presented there. In re Ballay, 482 F. 2d 648 (D.C.Cir.1973). No such collateral legal consequences (e.g., restriction of voting rights, jury service, driver’s licenses or gun licenses) have been suggested to us in the instant case. We observe, moreover, that the most salutory relief available to a person wrongfully committed would be release pursuant to a timely petition for writ of habeas corpus, not an impractical appeal which cannot avert short-term confinement. In any event, we are governed by the precedent of the Florida Supreme Court (Kinner) rather than that of the federal courts in determining an issue such as mootness of an appeal.
For the foregoing reasons, the appeal herein is
DISMISSED.
FRANK D. UPCHURCH, Jr., and CO-WART, JJ., concur.
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Bell v. Battaglia, 332 So. 3d 1094 (Fla. 2d DCA 2022)
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Godwin v. State, 557 So. 2d 955 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)…a mental health facility — even subsequent to release.” She gives as an example difficulties in explaining a gap in her employment history to prospective employers. We conclude appellee’s motion to dismiss should be granted. In Westlake v. State, 440 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983), it was held that to avoid dismissal in similar circumstances, appellant must at least demonstrate collateral legal consequences from her involuntary commitment. Accord, Taylor v. State, 536 So. 2d 1050 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). Here,…
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Elise Everett v. State, 524 So. 2d 1091 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…appeal. The order appealed provided for appellant’s involuntary placement in a state hospital for six months. That six-month period expired while review was pending, raising the question of whether the appeal had been mooted. See Westlake v. State, 440 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983). Our show cause order to counsel for appellant resulted in evidence that appellant remains involuntarily hospitalized pursuant to an order of continued involuntary placement, also an appealable order. § 394.457(7), Fla.Stat. (198…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- In re Preer Beverly, 342 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 1977)
- In re Ballay, 482 F.2d 648 (D.C. Cir. 1973)
- State v. Kinner, 398 So. 2d 1360 (Fla. 1981)