MS 2022-09-C-Bise-September-21-2022-Involuntary-Mental-Commitment-Procedures September 21, 2022

In Mississippi, do you have to get a community mental-health screening before filing a commitment affidavit?

Short answer: No. A relative or interested person can file an affidavit with the chancery clerk first. After the chancellor directs, the sheriff transports the person to a community mental health center for the pre-evaluation screening and treatment. Pre-screening is not a precondition to filing under §§ 41-21-65(1) and 41-21-67(1).

Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.

About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official AG opinion. The original opinion (linked at the bottom of this page, or PDF in the sidebar) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

View original AG opinion (PDF)

Plain-English summary

A chancellor in Mississippi's Eighth Chancery Court District asked the AG whether the law required someone to get a community mental health center to do a pre-evaluation screening before any affidavit for involuntary commitment could be filed. The concern arose because some courts in the state had been requiring screenings up front, while others were taking affidavits and then ordering screenings.

The AG: pre-screening is not a precondition to filing.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-21-65(1) and § 41-21-67(1) set up the sequence. A relative of the person alleged to need treatment, or another interested person, can file an affidavit with the chancery clerk. The chancellor then directs what happens next. Typically the sheriff takes the person alleged to need treatment to the appropriate community mental health center for the pre-evaluation screening and treatment. The statutes contemplate the screening as a step that happens under court direction, not as a gate that has to clear before the courthouse door opens.

The AG also points readers to Department of Mental Health resources. Under § 41-21-65, the Department has developed a Uniform Civil Commitment Affidavit form and a Uniform Civil Commitment Guide. Both are on its website (linked under Citations below). The forms standardize the affidavit so a chancery clerk anywhere in Mississippi can intake a complete filing.

What this means for you

If you are a family member trying to get someone help

Under the opinion, you can file an affidavit with the chancery clerk, and a pre-evaluation screening by a community health center is "not required prior to the filing." A relative of the person alleged to need treatment, or an interested person, may file; after that, on the chancellor's direction, the sheriff takes the person for the pre-evaluation screening and treatment. The opinion points to the Mississippi Department of Mental Health's Uniform Civil Commitment Affidavit form and Guide as the standardized affidavit.

For chancery clerks and chancellors

The opinion holds the sequence is affidavit first, then judicial direction, then screening: an affidavit by a relative or interested person under Sections 41-21-65(1) and 41-21-67(1) is not gated by a pre-existing screening. If a court has been requiring a screening before accepting the affidavit, the opinion's read is that the statutes do not require that.

For community mental health centers

Under the opinion, the screening happens after the affidavit is filed and the chancellor directs it, with the sheriff transporting the person. The center is not the gatekeeper for filing the affidavit.

Common questions

Q: Is a pre-evaluation screening required before filing a commitment affidavit?
A: No. The opinion holds a pre-evaluation screening "is not required prior to the filing of an affidavit that a person needs mental health treatment." The screening happens later, on the chancellor's direction.

Q: Who can file the affidavit?
A: Under Sections 41-21-65(1) and 41-21-67(1), "a relative of the person alleged to need treatment or an interested person may file an affidavit with the chancery clerk." The opinion does not further define "interested person."

Q: After I file, what happens?
A: The opinion describes the next step as judicial direction: "upon direction of the chancellor, the sheriff would take the person alleged to need treatment for pre-evaluation screening and treatment by the appropriate community mental health center."

Q: Where do I find the Uniform Civil Commitment Affidavit?
A: The opinion says the Mississippi Department of Mental Health developed the Uniform Civil Commitment Affidavit form and Uniform Civil Commitment Guide under Section 41-21-65, "both of which are available on its website: https://www.ms.gov/Agencies/department-mental-health."

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi's involuntary civil commitment process runs through the chancery court. The opinion identifies the intake step as the affidavit: under Section 41-21-65(1) and Section 41-21-67(1), a relative or interested person files an affidavit with the chancery clerk, and on the chancellor's direction the sheriff takes the person to the appropriate community mental health center for pre-evaluation screening and treatment. Under Section 41-21-65, the Department of Mental Health has developed a Uniform Civil Commitment Affidavit form and Uniform Civil Commitment Guide. The opinion confirms the statutes put filing first, then judicial direction, then screening, rather than requiring a screening before the affidavit.

Citations

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-21-65 (Uniform Civil Commitment Affidavit and Guide)
Miss. Code Ann. § 41-21-65(1) (filing of affidavit by relative or interested person)
Miss. Code Ann. § 41-21-67(1) (procedure for filing and judicial direction)
Mississippi Department of Mental Health, https://www.ms.gov/Agencies/department-mental-health (Uniform Civil Commitment Affidavit form and Guide)

Source

Original opinion text

September 21, 2022
The Honorable Carter Bise
Chancellor, Eighth Chancery Court District
Post Office Box 1542
Gulfport, Mississippi 39502
Re:

Involuntary Mental Commitment Procedures

Dear Chancellor Bise:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your two requests for an official opinion regarding
the same basic issue.
Question Presented
Is a pre-evaluation screening by a community health center required prior to an interested person
or family member filing an affidavit with the chancery clerk that a person needs mental health
treatment?
Brief Response
No. A pre-evaluation screening by a community health center is not required prior to the filing of
an affidavit that a person needs mental health treatment. Pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated
Sections 41-21-65(1) and 41-21-67(1), a relative of the person alleged to need treatment or an
interested person may file an affidavit with the chancery clerk and upon direction of the chancellor,
the sheriff would take the person alleged to need treatment for pre-evaluation screening and
treatment by the appropriate community mental health center.
In accordance with Section 41-21-65, the Mississippi Department of Mental Health has developed
a Uniform Civil Commitment Affidavit form and Uniform Civil Commitment Guide, both of
which are available on its website: https://www.ms.gov/Agencies/department-mental-health.

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By:

/s/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General