State v. D.A.

A person may be involuntarily committed for mental health treatment for up to 180 days if, after a hearing, the court determines that he or she is a “person with mental illness”, which includes a “person who, because of a mental disorder,” is “[d]dangerous to self or others” by clear and convincing evidence. ORS 426.130(1)(a)(C); ORS 426.005(1)(f)(A). A person’s condition at the time of hearing as well as the context of the person’s history is understood to determine whether a person is a danger to others. See, e.g., State v. L.R., 283 Or App 618, 625 (2017).

D.A. appealed a judgment of civil commitment regarding the custody of the Mental Health Division and an order that prohibited the purchase and possession of firearms.  With a previous history of stalking behavior and one civil commitment, a physician determined that D.A. was imminently dangerous to himself and others based on references that he intended to kill himself while violating the current restraining order. A person may be involuntarily committed for mental health treatment for up to 180 days if, after a hearing, the court determines that he or she is a “person with mental illness”, which includes a “person who, because of a mental disorder,” is “[d]dangerous to self or others” by clear and convincing evidence. ORS 426.130(1)(a)(C); ORS 426.005(1)(f)(A). A person’s condition at the time of hearing as well as the context of the person’s history is understood to determine whether a person is a danger to others. See, e.g., State v. L.R., 283 Or App 618, 625 (2017). The Court held that the record had legally sufficient evidence of a mental disorder which caused stalking behavior, paranoia and delusion, and violent behavior.  In conjunction with refusing to take his medication, which resulted in decomposition and increased aggression,  D.A. posed a danger to others, and therefore commitment was warranted. Affirmed.