Myers v. Alaska Psychiatric Institute

Faith Myers (plaintiff) suffered from paranoia, hallucinations, and other symptoms and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Myers stopped taking psychotropic medication in 2001, believing it worsened her condition. The side effects of psychotropic medication could be devastating and included muscles spasms, loss of sexual desire, apathy, and depression. In 2003, Myers was involuntarily committed to the Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API) (defendant). Alaska law allowed administration of psychotropic drugs without patient consent. First, the state was required to have the patient committed for treatment, having shown by clear and convincing evidence that the patient was likely to come to harm or to harm others. Second, the state was required to petition for court approval of its treatment plan, showing by clear and convincing evidence that the patient lacked capacity and, while competent, had never made a declaration refusing psychotropic medications. The law required appointment of a person, called a visitor, to gather information about the patient’s capacity and declarations on the court’s behalf. The API obtained a superior court order approving nonconsensual administration of psychotropic drugs to Myers. The superior court found that Myers lacked the capacity to make decisions about her own treatment. Myers’s expert witness testified that one drug the API planned to use was a dangerous drug of “dubious efficacy.” The court held that state law did not empower it to consider the patient’s best interests and refused to consider the expert’s testimony. On appeal, Myers argued that the order violated her rights under the Alaska Constitution, which provided that no person could be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process and which recognized a right to privacy. The API argued that the state’s parens patriae duty to treat Myers for her own best interest allowed doctors to treat the patient without judicial review. Alternatively, the API argued that the state’s right to use its police powers to prevent harm overrode Myers’s constitutional rights.