ABSTRACT
In Baxstrom v. Herold, the U.S. Supreme Court determined the due process rights of prisoners facing civil commitment at the end of their prison sentence.
Johnnie Baxstrom was committed to a New York prison in 1959 after being convicted of assault. In 1961, a prison physician certified him as ‘insane’ (i.e., suffering from a mental illness), and he was transferred to Dannemora State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital for prisoners. When Baxstrom’s penal sentence was about to end, the hospital director applied for civil commitment based on the opinion of two hospital physicians that Baxstrom was still mentally ill and in need of hospital care. Baxstrom appeared alone at the commitment hearing and was only permitted a brief opportunity to ask questions. He was retained at Dannemora State Hospital as a civilly committed patient.
