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Panel: Schizophrenic Man with HIV a Danger to the Public

By Eric L. Lipman

In an interesting opinion issued today, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that a Hennepin County man could be indefinitely committed as a "person who is mentally ill and dangerous to the public," because he was schizophrenic, HIV positive and had a pattern of engaging in unprotected sex with others. Believing that David Kendall Renz could not be persuaded to engage in safe sexual practices if his mental illness were treated in the community, Judge Worke wrote for a unanimous panel:

[B]ased on Dr. Keul's testimony that appellant will continue to engage in similar behavior because appellant insists on doing what he wants to do, and because appellant's prior commitments described [above] did not change his behavior, a temporary hold would not sufficiently deter appellant from engaging his dangerous behavior.

Thus, while there is no evidence of a specific victim, there is evidence that appellant engaged in unprotected sexual activity putting others at risk of contracting HIV. Because the evidence shows that appellant has engaged in overt acts causing or attempting to cause serious physical harm to another, the requirements for commitment as mentally ill and dangerous are met, and the district court did not err in concluding that appellant meets the requirements for commitment as mentally ill and dangerous.

The panel's complete analysis is accessible here.

Full post as published by Within the Scope on October 28, 2008 (boomark / email).