IN THE MATTER OF THE COMMITMENT OF S.D.(15-7115, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)(RECORD IMPOUNDED), A-1534-15T2

Background

Appellant S.D., age 35, diagnosed with schizophrenia and with a history of repeated hospitalizations and conditional releases.
S.D. was discharged from Newark Beth Israel on condition he take medication, live at a shelter, and follow up with PACT; a week later he was screened after an incident at Newark Penn Station and readmitted.
County presented one witness, Dr. Sostre (treating psychiatrist), who testified S.D. talks aloud to himself, may be psychotic, has poor insight, is noncompliant with meds, and was reported to be verbally threatening at Penn Station (reports described as "vague").
S.D. testified he did not threaten anyone, had filled prescriptions, and was taking medication; PACT contact during the week out was not documented.
Municipal judge questioned S.D., credited parts of testimony but found he frequented Penn Station and was "aggressive and threatening" to commuters, concluded S.D. was dangerous to self and others, and ordered civil commitment to a long-term locked facility.
Appellate court reviewed whether County proved dangerousness by clear and convincing evidence and whether commitment rested on speculation or inadmissible hearsay.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (S.D.)	Defendant's Argument (County)	Held
Whether County proved dangerousness by clear and convincing evidence for involuntary commitment	No clear and convincing evidence S.D. was dangerous to self, others, or property; commitment based on speculation and hearsay	Dr. Sostre: history of med noncompliance and reported threatening/agitated conduct at Penn Station show risk to others and self	Reversed — County failed to prove dangerousness by clear and convincing evidence
Whether testimony about Penn Station conduct sufficed to show likelihood of inflicting serious harm	Reports were vague, hearsay, and lacked content/context to establish true threats or risk	Argues reports were part of clinical screening relied on for diagnosis and risk assessment	Court held vague hearsay and clinician reliance insufficient; expert may not substitute screening reports as proof of facts
Whether noncompliance with medication alone supports commitment as dangerousness to self or others	Noncompliance without more is insufficient to show relatively immediate substantial risk	County argued noncompliance leads to rapid decompensation and past readmissions demonstrating foreseeable risk	Court held mere history of noncompliance and prior decompensations inadequate to meet statutory dangerousness standard
Mootness of appeal since S.D. discharged	S.D. retains interest (possible liability for hospital costs and liberty implications; future placements) so appeal not moot	County did not argue mootness successfully	Court confirmed appeal not moot and reached merits

Key Cases Cited

In re D.C., 146 N.J. 31 (discussing narrow scope of appellate review of commitments)
In re Commitment of M.M., 384 N.J. Super. 313 (App. Div.) (expert opinion cannot supply proof of underlying facts absent admissible evidence)
In re Commitment of J.R., 390 N.J. Super. 523 (App. Div.) (verbal aggression insufficient without context to establish dangerousness)
In re Commitment of T.J., 401 N.J. Super. 111 (App. Div.) (reversal appropriate where record lacks clear and convincing evidence of imminent dangerous conduct)
In re S.L., 94 N.J. 128 (mental illness alone insufficient for involuntary commitment)
In re Commitment of N.N., 146 N.J. 112 (need for substantial risk of dangerous conduct within foreseeable future)
In re Commitment of A.A., 252 N.J. Super. 170 (rare instances where psychological harm may satisfy dangerousness standard)
In the Commitment of W.H., 324 N.J. Super. 519 (statements that patient becomes delusional and talks to self insufficient to show dangerousness)
In re Commitment of B.L., 346 N.J. Super. 285 (appeals not moot where financial liability or liberty interests remain)
O'Connor v. Donaldson, 422 U.S. 563 (1975) (mental illness alone does not justify involuntary confinement)