Commitment of B A ( 2023 )

FILED
Sep 12 2023, 8:36 am
CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Casandra J. Nelson Theodore E. Rokita
Law Office of Casandra J. Nelson, LLC Attorney General of Indiana
Noblesville, Indiana
Monika P. Talbot
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
In the Matter of the September 12, 2023
Commitment of: Court of Appeals Case No.
23A-MH-632
B.A.,
Appeal from the Hamilton
Appellant-Respondent, Superior Court
v. The Honorable Michael A. Casati,
Judge
State of Indiana, Trial Court Cause No.
29D01-2302-MH-18
Appellee-Petitioner
Opinion by Judge Mathias
Judges Vaidik and Pyle concur.
Mathias, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 1 of 16
[1] B.A. appeals the trial court’s order that she be involuntarily committed to the
Logansport State Hospital. B.A. raises two issues for our review, which we
restate as follows:
1. Whether B.A. preserved her argument of insufficient service of
process, which she raised for the first time during the closing
arguments of the fact-finding hearing on the Hospital’s petition.
2. Whether the Hospital presented sufficient evidence to support
the trial court’s order that she be committed to the Hospital.
[2] We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[3] In December 2021, the State charged B.A. with Level 2 felony criminal
confinement (where the “victim [wa]s used as a shield or hostage”); Level 5
felony criminal confinement; Class A misdemeanor domestic battery; Class A
misdemeanor interference with the reporting of a crime; and Class A
misdemeanor resisting law enforcement in the Hamilton Superior Court.
Appellant’s App. Vol. 2, p. 9. In February and again in March 2022, two
different clinical psychologists concluded that B.A. was not competent to
understand the criminal proceedings against her or to aid in her own defense.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 2 of 16
[4] In August, the Hamilton Superior Court committed B.A. to the Logansport
State Hospital for competency restoration services.1 In February 2023, the
Hospital petitioned the court for B.A.’s involuntary regular commitment.
According to an attached physician’s statement of Dr. Danny Meadows, B.A.
suffered from “[b]ipolar I disorder with mixed features and PTSD.” Id. at 11.
Dr. Meadows opined that B.A.’s conditions “substantially disturb[ed her]
thinking, feeling, or behavior[] and impair[ed] her ability to function.” Id. He
further opined that that impairment resulted in her inability to function
independently, noting that
[B.A.] is unaware that she is psychotic, which affects both her
judgement [sic] and insight. She is also unaware whenever she
becomes verbally aggressive/threatening towards others, which
occurs whenever she does not get her way (feels that she is being
served a “child size serving,” isn’t served bread due to being on
an 1,800 calorie diet, etc.), her delusional beliefs are challenged
(during an evaluation[/]weekly or monthly assessment and/or
her competency evaluation), or she feels betrayed, threatened, or
wronged in some way (even if this is based on delusional beliefs).
[B.A.’s] delusional beliefs are fixed, involve her being a CIA
agent and [that] the Hamilton Co. police, her assigned attorney,
and the judge involved in her criminal court case [are] working
with multiple family members (her ex-husband, mother, and
1
The need for mental health services provided through Indiana’s state hospital system is great. It is our
sincere hope that our partners in the Executive and Legislative branches consider providing even
more support and resources to Indiana’s State Psychiatric Hospitals and other State-sponsored mental
health service providers.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 3 of 16
sister) in a sex trafficking ring, which her two minor daughters
are now involved in.
Id. And, in the petition for B.A.’s involuntary commitment, Dr. Meadows
added:
[B.A.] is currently homeless and unemployed. She reports
knowing a number of famous individuals and frequently asks
staff to contact them on her behalf for a variety of reasons. While
she remains overtly psychotic, [B.A.] continues to believe that
she does not have a mental illness and should only be prescribed
seizure medication.
Id. at 9.
[5] The trial court held a fact-finding hearing on the Hospital’s petition in March.
B.A. appeared at that hearing in person and by counsel, and, at the
commencement of the hearing, her counsel informed the court that they were
“ready to proceed” on the Hospital’s petition. Tr. p. 4. Dr. Meadows then
testified and adopted his statements in his written physician’s statement.
[6] Dr. Meadows also elaborated on how B.A.’s mental illness substantially
impaired her judgment, reasoning, or behavior, resulting in her inability to
function independently:
Q [by B.A.’s counsel]: And your commitment [petition] is solely
based on your belief that my client is gravely disabled?
A Yes, that’s correct.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 4 of 16
***
A . . . [S]pecifically, . . . [i]t is that we believe that [her
mental illness] is impinging greatly on her judgments and her
insight, which would then lead to her having additional
difficulties if she were to be released. Now in actuality if she were
to be released . . . , we would let the Hamilton County Sheriff’s
Department . . . know that and she would be escorted back to the
Hamilton County Jail.
***
Q . . . Can you please elaborate . . . ?
A All right, so based on the presentation of her mental health
symptoms, we believe that she is not able to make rational and
reasoned decisions. And that harm could come to her based
on . . . how her mental health . . . symptoms[] are manifesting.
So, the[] issue that we have is that we’re not . . . saying that she
doesn’t have the ability to meet basic needs currently, but she is
in a supervised setting. So, if she w[ere] not in this twenty-four-
hour supervised setting . . . , if she were to go back into the
community[,] based on her presentation and severity of her
mental health symptoms we believe that she can come to harm
potentially based on those symptoms.
Id. at 13-15. And Dr. Meadows testified that he has B.A. on a medication plan
and that, under that plan, she has shown “some improvement” with “mood
issues” but less improvement with her “delusional beliefs.” Id. at 18.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 5 of 16
[7] Following Dr. Meadows’s testimony, B.A. testified. She appeared to deny
suffering from mental illness and stated only that she once suffered from
epilepsy. She also discussed living in both Florida and Indiana, and when asked
if she had an Indiana address, she responded that she was not sure because her
mother-figure from her childhood “doesn’t want me to live with her.” Id. at 20.
When asked what she would do for employment, B.A. stated:
Well, I would probably go back to, just for safety and peace, I
probably would go to the fashion mall and go to the Body Shop.
I already have large connections in the retail area. I’d probably
go back[;] right now I can’t work in it now but it’s my side job.
That I probably will take if I stay in Indiana, I will take that on
fully. Yeah, and teach on occasion on weekends. Teach
professional ballet and professional modern dance.
Id. at 21.
[8] Following B.A.’s testimony, the court invited the parties to make their closing
statements or arguments. B.A.’s counsel then, for the first time, objected to the
proceedings on the ground that the Hospital had not properly served B.A. with
its petition for her commitment. Id. at 22-24. The court responded that it had
“appointed [B.A.’s counsel] after the filing of the documents for the purpose[]
of representing her with respect to the petition and these proceedings.” Id. at 27.
The court then overruled B.A.’s objection and ordered her involuntary civil
commitment.
[9] This appeal ensued.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 6 of 16
1. B.A. did not preserve her argument of insufficient service of
process.
[10] On appeal, B.A. first asserts that the Hospital failed to provide her with
sufficient service of process. A judgment rendered in violation of the Due
Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
is void. World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 291 (1980). We
review whether a judgment is void or valid de novo. M.H. v. State, 207 N.E.3d
412, 416 (Ind. 2023).
[11] As we stated in Munster v. Groce, 829 N.E.2d 52, 58 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005):
[i]n the seminal case regarding due process and notice, the
Supreme Court held that the Due Process Clause requires at a
minimum “that deprivation of life, liberty or property by
adjudication be preceded by notice and opportunity for hearing
appropriate to the nature of the case.” Mullane v. Central Hanover
Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 313 (1950). “This right to be
heard has little reality or worth unless one is informed that the
matter is pending and can choose for himself whether to appear
or default, acquiesce or contest.” Id. at 314. “An elementary and
fundamental requirement of due process in any proceeding which is to be
accorded finality is notice reasonably calculated, under all the
circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action
and afford them an opportunity to present their objections.” Id.“[W]hen notice is a person’s due, process which is a mere gesture
is not due process. The means employed must be such as one
desirous of actually informing the absentee might reasonably
adopt to accomplish it.” Id. at 315.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 7 of 16
(Emphasis added.)2
[12] An untimely defense of insufficient service of process is waived. See Ind. Trial
Rule 12(B); see also Ind. Code § 12-26-1-6 (2022) (stating that the Indiana Trial
Rules apply to civil commitment proceedings unless another statute provides
otherwise). Likewise, our Supreme Court has held that claims of insufficient
notice and opportunity to prepare a defense are waived when there is not a
timely objection in the trial court. Salahuddin v. State, 492 N.E.2d 292, 296 (Ind.
1986) (“By not objecting, [the defendant] waived the issue, even though . . . the
error is of constitutional dimension.”); see also Daniel v. State, 526 N.E.2d 1157,
1162 (Ind. 1988) (“As no objection was made at trial to the late filing . . . , this
allegation of error has been waived.”). An objection for an alleged inadequate
opportunity to prepare a defense further requires a party to move for a
continuance, and the failure to do so also results in waiver. Daniel, 526 N.E.2d
at 1162. And our Supreme Court has further held that a party “should not be
heard to argue [s]he was denied notice and opportunity to be heard” where her
“counsel specifically acknowledged that they were prepared to proceed” on the
matter at issue. Salahuddin, 492 N.E.2d at 296.
2
Proper service of process also enables a trial court to obtain personal jurisdiction over the party served. See
Front Row Motors, LLC v. Jones, 5 N.E.3d 753, 759 (Ind. 2014). B.A., who appeared at the March 2023 hearing
and participated in those proceedings, does not suggest on appeal that the trial court lacked personal
jurisdiction over her; we therefore interpret her service-of-process argument to go to her notice and
opportunity to meaningfully participate in the fact-finding hearing on the Hospital’s petition.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 8 of 16
[13] All of those reasons for waiver exist here. B.A. does not appeal from the denial
of a motion for relief from judgment following a default. See T.R. 60(B)(6).
Instead, she appeared in person and by counsel at the fact-finding hearing on
the Hospital’s petition. She did not object to the purported insufficient service of
process at the commencement of the hearing but, rather, expressly informed the
court that she was ready to proceed on the merits of the petition. After the
Hospital presented its case, B.A. presented evidence contesting the petition.
Only then, at the close of the fact-finding hearing, did B.A. object for the first
time to the purported insufficient service of process. B.A.’s objection was not
timely, and it is waived.
[14] In addition to being subject to waiver, our Supreme Court has held that, even if
a claim of insufficient service of process is properly preserved for appeal, there
is no reversible error unless the party appealing the trial court’s judgment
demonstrates prejudice. Specifically, in 624 Broadway, LLC v. Gary Housing
Authority, 193 N.E.3d 381, 386 (Ind. 2022), our Supreme Court held that even
demonstrably insufficient service of process is subject to a harmless-error
analysis.
[15] Here, however, B.A. does not argue, let alone demonstrate, how the outcome
of the hearing on the Hospital’s petition might have been different if she had
had better documented service of process. For instance, she does not explain
what she might have done differently at the hearing, and she has not shown that
she was denied an opportunity to present her evidence or objections at the
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 9 of 16
hearing due to the purported insufficient service of process. Accordingly, there
is no reversible error here.
[16] Nonetheless, in support of her argument on appeal, B.A. relies on our Court’s
opinion in In re Commitment of M.E., 64 N.E.3d 855 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016). In
M.E., another panel of this Court recognized that service of process is, of
course, required for petitions seeking an involuntary civil commitment. 64
N.E.3d at 860. But the M.E. panel went further, stating that documentary
“proof” of “actual service” is “required” for all civil commitment cases. Id. The
panel also stated that any waiver of service of process by a respondent in a civil
commitment case “cannot be valid” because “[i]t is difficult, if not impossible,
to see how an individual who is involuntarily detained . . . by a mental health
institution can be considered able to exhibit the competency required” to waive
his or her rights. Id. at 860-61.
[17] We decline to follow M.E. for three reasons. First, the Indiana Supreme Court
has expressly disapproved of the M.E. panel’s waiver analysis. As our Supreme
Court subsequently stated, the M.E. panel’s waiver analysis “conflates mental
illness and mental competency, while Indiana law distinguishes between them.”
A.A. v. Eskenazi Health/Midtown CMHC, 97 N.E.3d 606, 612 (Ind. 2018).
Second, and relatedly, the M.E. panel’s conclusion that waiver of a defense of
insufficient service of process can never be valid in civil commitment cases is
not supported by our Trial Rules or precedent. See, e.g., T.R. 12(B); Salahuddin,
492 N.E.2d at 296. Third, the M.E. panel did not conduct an analysis of
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 10 of 16
whether the insufficient service of process in that case was prejudicial, and,
thus, the panel’s analysis is at best incomplete from the standpoint of appellate
review. Cf. 624 Broadway, 193 N.E.3d at 386 (holding that even demonstrably
insufficient service of process must be prejudicial for it to be reversible error).
[18] Accordingly, we decline to follow M.E., and we conclude that B.A.’s objection
to the purported insufficient service of process was not timely. We further
conclude that she has not demonstrated reversible error even if the service of
process here were insufficient. Therefore, the trial court’s judgment against her
is not void.
2. The Hospital presented sufficient evidence to support the
trial court’s judgment.
[19] B.A. also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence underlying the trial court’s
judgment. For such issues, we will affirm if, “considering only the probative
evidence and the reasonable inferences supporting it, without weighing
evidence or assessing witness credibility, a reasonable trier of fact could find the
necessary elements proven by clear and convincing evidence.” In re Commitment
of T.K., 27 N.E.3d 271, 273 (Ind. 2015) (cleaned up).
[20] To support its petition for B.A.’s involuntary regular commitment, the Hospital
was required to show by clear and convincing evidence that B.A. is mentally ill;
that she is either dangerous or “gravely disabled”; and that her commitment is
“appropriate.” I.C. § 12-26-2-5(e) (2022). B.A. challenges only whether the
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 11 of 16
Hospital demonstrated that she is gravely disabled 3 and that her detention is
appropriate.
[21] First, B.A. argues that the Hospital failed to show that she is gravely disabled.
According to Indiana Code section 12-7-2-96 (2022), “gravely disabled,” as
relevant here, “means a condition in which an individual, as a result of mental
illness, is in danger of coming to harm because the individual . . . has a
substantial impairment . . . of that individual’s judgment, reasoning, or
behavior that results in the individual’s inability to function independently.”
[22] The Hospital presented sufficient evidence to support the trial court’s
conclusion that B.A. is gravely disabled. The Hamilton Superior Court
committed B.A. to the Hospital in connection with criminal charges that
included Level 2 felony criminal confinement in which she is alleged to have
used a victim as a shield or hostage. There, she was diagnosed by Dr.
Meadows, who stated in the physician’s statement attached to the Hospital’s
petition that B.A. suffered from “[b]ipolar I disorder with mixed features and
PTSD.” Appellant’s App. Vol. 2, p. 11. Dr. Meadows further stated that B.A.’s
conditions “substantially disturb[ed her] thinking, feeling, or behavior[] and
impair[ed] her ability to function.” Id.
3
The Hospital did not premise its petition on the alternative basis that B.A. is dangerous.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 12 of 16
[23] Dr. Meadows explained how B.A.’s substantial impairment of her judgment,
reasoning, or behavior would result in her inability to function independently.
Specifically, in his written statement, Dr. Meadows noted that B.A. is
“unaware that she is psychotic, which affects both her judgement [sic] and
insight.” Id. He further stated that she is “also unaware whenever she becomes
verbally aggressive/threatening towards others,” and that she becomes
aggressive toward others “whenever she does not get her way . . . , her
delusional beliefs are challenged . . . or she feels betrayed, threatened, or
wronged in some way (even if this is based on delusional beliefs).” Id.
[24] During his ensuing testimony at the March fact-finding hearing, Dr. Meadows
adopted his written statements. He further testified that B.A.’s mental illness
would “lead to her having additional difficulties if she were to be released,”
adding:
she is not able to make rational and reasoned decisions. And that
harm could come to her based on . . . how her mental
health . . . symptoms[] are manifesting. So, the[] issue that we
have is that we’re not . . . saying that she doesn’t have the ability
to meet basic needs currently, but she is in a supervised setting.
So, if she w[ere] not in this twenty-four-hour supervised
setting . . . , if she were to go back into the community[,] based
on her presentation and severity of her mental health symptoms
we believe that she can come to harm potentially based on those
symptoms.
Tr. pp. 13-15.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 13 of 16
[25] B.A.’s argument against the Hospital’s evidence of her being gravely disabled is
that her “conduct does not rise to the level of a substantial impairment . . . .”
Appellant’s Br. at 22. According to B.A., “[s]he has been able to meet her needs
in a supervised setting.” Id. at 23. Further, B.A. asserts that Dr. Meadows’s
testimony was only that, if released from that setting, “harm could come” to her.
Id. (emphasis in original).
[26] B.A.’s arguments mischaracterize Dr. Meadows’s testimony. His testimony was
not that B.A.’s risks are uncertain, and he did not testify that, if released, B.A.
would be able to function independently. Rather, his testimony was that she is
currently able to have her basic needs met because she is currently in a
supervised setting. And the plain implication from his testimony was that, if
released from a supervised setting, B.A. would be unable to function
independently and would be in danger of coming to harm because of her
impaired ability to make rational and reasoned decisions and because of her
behavior of acting aggressively toward others over perceived slights, even where
those perceptions stemmed from delusions. We thus conclude that Dr.
Meadow’s written statements and testimony provided the fact-finder with a
sufficient basis from which to conclude that B.A. is gravely disabled.
[27] We similarly conclude that Dr. Meadows’s testimony supports the trial court’s
conclusion that her commitment to the Hospital is appropriate. Again, a
reasonable fact-finder could readily find from Dr. Meadows’s testimony that
B.A. would not do well in a less restrictive setting and that she needed
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 14 of 16
continued hospitalization. Dr. Meadows testified to B.A.’s aggressive behaviors
while at the Hospital. And he testified that he has B.A. on a medication plan.
Under that plan, B.A. has shown “some improvement” with “mood issues” but
less improvement with her “delusional beliefs.” Tr. p. 18. That evidence is
sufficient to support the trial court’s conclusion that her commitment is
appropriate. See, e.g., In re Commitment of A.M., 959 N.E.2d 832, 836-37 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2011).
[28] Still, B.A. argues that Dr. Meadows did not give a timeframe for her release,
and, thus, his testimony is not sufficient to show that her commitment is
appropriate. But we agree with the Hospital that B.A.’s argument here appears
to “conflate[] her involuntary commitment case with her criminal case.”
Appellee’s Br. at 20. B.A. does not cite any provision of the Indiana Code that
requires a date certain for a person’s release from an involuntary regular
commitment in order to support a petition for that commitment.
[29] Accordingly, the Hospital presented sufficient evidence to support the trial
court’s judgment.
Conclusion
[30] For all of these reasons, we affirm the trial court’s order for B.A.’s involuntary
regular commitment to the Hospital.
[31] Affirmed.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 15 of 16
Vaidik, J., and Pyle, J., concur.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-MH-632| September 12, 2023 Page 16 of 16