In re the Involuntary Treatment of: J. E. H. ( 2016 )

FILED
JULY 19, 2016
In the Office of the Clerk of Court
WA State Court of Appeals, Division III
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
DIVISION THREE
In re the Matter of the Involuntary )
Treatment of ) No. 33612-3-111
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) UNPUBLISHED OPINION
J.E.H. )
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FEARING, C.J. -Joshua Henry appeals a trial court ruling ordering his
involuntary confinement for one hundred eighty days for schizophrenia treatment.
Joshua Henry is a fictitious name. Henry contends the trial court lacked sufficient
evidence to commit him for involuntary treatment. Because clear, cogent, and
convincing evidence supports the superior court's findings of fact and the findings
support the conclusions oflaw, we affirm the trial court's order.
FACTS
One September 2014 night, Joshua Henry broke a window and entered a
commercial building in Walla Walla. Witnesses called police, who arrived and found
No. 33612-3-III
In re Involuntary Treatment ofJ.E.H
Henry locked in a back room. Henry told the officers that he owned the building and that
they trespassed on his property. Further investigation revealed that the Tucker Living
Trust, not Joshua Henry, owned the building.
The State of Washington charged Joshua Henry with second degree burglary and
two misdemeanors. In March 2015, the Walla Walla County Superior Court ordered a
stay of proceedings pending Henry's stay in Eastern State Hospital for a forty-five day
mental health evaluation. After evaluating Henry, Eastern State Hospital psychologist
Randall Strandquist diagnosed Henry with schizophrenia and concluded that Henry did
not possess the capacity to understand legal proceedings against him. Dr. Strandquist
reported his findings to the Walla Walla County Superior Court and recommended that
Henry be evaluated for civil commitment. On May 13, 2015, the Walla Walla County
Superior Court dismissed the charges against Henry without prejudice pursuant to refile
pursuant to RCW 10.77.086(4).
PROCEDURE
In late May 2015, Randall Strandquist and psychiatrist Lawrence Martin filed, in
Spokane County Superior Court, a petition and supporting affidavits to detain Joshua
Henry for one hundred and eighty days of involuntary treatment. The petition alleged
that Henry required hospitalization because, due to his mental disorder, he presented a
substantial likelihood of repeating similar criminal acts if released into the community
without treatment.
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At a June 2015 hearing on the petition for involuntary confinement, Lawrence
Martin testified that Joshua Henry possesses grandiose delusions, including a belief that
he is a Korean War hero who served from 1996 to 1998, that he rescued a wounded
soldier in mid-air by jumping from a helicopter attached to a bungee cord and catching
the falling soldier in his arms, that he suffers from extensive war wounds, and that he is
an Indian chief called ChiefWooky Wooky. Historians will note that the Korean War
occurred between 1950 and 1953. Dr. Martin also testified that Joshua Henry denies
suffering anything more than posttraumatic stress disorder, continues to believe he owns
the building he unlawfully entered, will not take medication, and will not seek needed
treatment if released from Eastern State Hospital. During the hearing, Henry testified he
suffers from no mental illness. Therefore, he refuses to take medication or seek
treatment. Henry explained that he inherited the Walla Walla commercial building from
Henry Ford III and that he also owns a Wells Fargo Bank.
The Spokane County Superior Court commissioner granted the petition for
involuntary treatment. In findings of fact and conclusions of law entered, the court
incorporated the allegations of the parties and the supporting affidavits of the medical
professionals. The court found a substantial likelihood that Joshua Henry, because of a
mental disorder, would repeat acts similar to those crimes that the Walla Walla County
Superior Court dismissed. Accordingly, the court ordered Henry to submit to one
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hundred and eighty days of involuntary treatment.
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Joshua Henry appealed the order of involuntary treatment. He has since
completed the one hundred and eighty days of treatment. We, nonetheless, entertain
Henry's appeal because the order of confinement and treatment holds collateral
consequences for future commitment determinations. In re Det. of MK., 168 Wn. App.
621, 625-26, 279 P.3d 897 (2012).
ANALYSIS
Joshua Henry contends the evidence does not support the trial court's conclusion
that he needed one hundred and eighty days of involuntary treatment. When, as here, the
trial court weighed the evidence, we limit our review to determining whether substantial
evidence supports the findings and whether those findings support the trial court's
conclusions oflaw. In re Det. ofLaBelle, 107 Wn.2d 196,209, 728 P.2d 138 (1986); In
re Det. ofA.S., 91 Wn. App. 146, 162, 955 P.2d 836 (1998).
When the superior court rules that a felony defendant is incompetent to stand trial
and dismisses the felony charges, the professional in charge of a treatment facility may
file a petition for one hundred and eighty days of treatment under RCW 71.05.280(3).
RCW 71.05.290(3). The petition must present clear, cogent, and convincing evidence
that, as a result of a mental disorder, the person "presents a substantial likelihood of
repeating similar acts" if released without further treatment. RCW 71.05 .31 O;
RCW 71.05.280(3).
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Joshua Henry contends the trial court resorted to speculation and conjecture in
finding that he needed mental health services. He contends the trial court failed to
articulate any facts to support its finding, which he labels a conclusion of law, that he
possesses a mental disability that renders him substantially likely to repeat acts similar to
second degree burglary.
The trial court's findings of fact, conclusions oflaw, and order are contained in a
form document with handwritten notations relevant to Joshua Henry's case. Although
the document lacks detailed findings of fact, it incorporates the affidavits of the medical
professionals as findings. These affidavits and Henry's testimony at the hearing establish
that Henry suffers from chronic schizophrenia, denies he has a mental disorder, will not
take medications or seek treatment if released, and continues to believe he owns property
he entered illegally. This evidence clearly, cogently, and convincingly supports the trial
court's finding that Henry has a mental disorder that carries a substantial likelihood he
will repeat similar criminal acts. In turn, the finding supports the conclusion that
involuntary treatment is justified under RCW 71.05.280(3).
CONCLUSION
Based on overwhelming evidence, the trial court found that Joshua Henry
possessed a mental disorder and that Henry was substantially likely to repeat acts similar
to second degree burglary if released without treatment. Accordingly, we affirm the
order of commitment for one hundred and eighty days of mental health treatment.
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No. 33612-3-111
In re Involuntary Treatment ofJ.E.H
A majority of the panel has determined this opinion will not be printed in the
Washington Appellate Reports, but it will be filed for public record pursuant to RCW
2.06.040.
WE CONCUR:
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doway,J.
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