(I'm going to start out brief and elaborate as required if that's ok)
I have a daughter who's bi-polar. I'm her dad.
I had her hospitalized for mania on Christmas day and she spent nine days there. About three weeks ago, freshly out of the hospital, she decided she didn't need her medications any more and got herself in trouble with the police ("charged" with DUI) while in a manic state. The officer apparently took her downtown and during her booking, she created quite a disturbance with the magistrate and he slapped her with thirty days for contempt, without bail.
I'd seen her the day before and she didn't seem too bad so, I was content for her to have a long time to think about it.... UNTIL she called me after about two weeks. She was obviously still manic and she was getting punished for being so. Lockdown, no visitors, no sheets, no phone calls, ...who really knows what goes on inside there? I don't think I'm overprotective and she's a big girl, twenty six now.
Anyway, I've made it my mission to somehow get her involuntarily comitted to, preferably, our state mental hospital. Everything I've tried is blocked by the "justice" system. I talked with a lawyer and he says it could be many months before her case gets to trial. I talked with the magistrate to see if I could have her involuntarily comitted from jail....he says there's nothing he can do. The jail psychiactric "liason" doesn't think she has a problem. Her mom and I have tried to talk with pretty much everyone involved with her at the jail, from the sheriff on down, and we've documented these conversations as best we can regarding time, date, names. They're a secretive lot and don't reveal much about anything inside.
Anyway, I'm betting someone here has experience with a situation like this and can offer possible ways to get some action. I'm tempted to launch a petition but I'm not quite sure where I'd aim it.
It's looking like I'm going to have to poke a hornets nest.
I'll be in and out to to respond to comments and add info as needed
