Where Involuntary Commitment, Civil Liberties, and the Right to Mental Health Care Collide: An Overview of California\u27s Mental Illness System

This Note provides an overview of California\u27s mental health care system. It discusses the history of the civil liberty movement as it pertains to mental health care and its impact on the current system. The Note argues that the present system is inadequate because of the obstacles to obtaining treatment and, when it is available, the poor quality of mental health care. This Note also explores the societal consequences of the current system and offers some alternatives. This Note does not argue for confinement without cause or without safeguards. Rather, in an effort to throw some light on a very complex and controversial subject, it examines how those with severe mental illness are treated within the system and offers recommendations that could serve to improve the plight of the mentally ill