Criminal Procedure — involuntary medication

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U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Criminal Procedure — involuntary medication

The district court must hold an individualized hearing before ordering that an incompetent defendant be involuntarily medicated.

“We must conclude that the record similarly is inadequate to establish the third Sell requirement—that the medication is necessary to further the Government’s important interests and “that any alternative, less intrusive treatments are unlikely to achieve substantially the same results.” Id. Before a district court can conclude that involuntary medication is necessary, it must consider whether less intrusive means are possible. Chatmon, 718 F.3d at 376 (reversing medication order where the district court had not addressed the defendant’s arguments regarding less intrusive means “and essentially provided ‘no rationale’ in support of its ruling”). Mr. Debenedetto’s counsel conditioned his client’s willingness to return to Butner on the ground that the professionals there “review or consider less intrusive measures.” R.69 at 7. Indeed, the district court accepted this qualification and incorporated it into its order. See R.63 at 4. In doing so, the district court necessarily failed to make, as it must, the required finding that alternative, less intrusive treatments would be unlikely to achieve substantially the same results. Here, the district court impermissibly delegated that responsibility.”

Vacated and Remanded.

13-3281 U.S. v. Debenedetto

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Castillo, J., Ripple, J.