It Took One Minute...

...and twenty-six seconds.

"I believe we must speak our conscience in moments that demand it,

even if we are but one voice"

Richard B. Sanders

This was sent to my State Senator and State Representatives, all the members on the Judiciary Committee, and The Health and Human Services Committee in the Washington State Legislature.  I voted for these guys; now I wonder why...Not a one of them has returned a call, or answered an email.  Not like former Representatives and Senators Mary Skinner, Jim Clements and Alex Deccio AT ALL.... I also sent it to State employees working for the State of Washington at the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery.

This is the first blog post. It appears here with minor changes for clarity.  An update is also added for the 2 year anniversary of Involuntary Transformation which I started on September 4, 2010.

To whom it may concern:

The hearing stripping my son of his liberty and his Constitutional Rights to Procedural and Substantive Due Process lasted one minute and twenty-six seconds. My son's assigned counsel presented the prosecution's case, and a Court Order was granted authorizing a 14 day extension of a fraudulently obtained Emergent Order to Detain. The order to detain was sought by a Designated Mental Health Professional, "DMHP" who committed forgery, and perjury, which means that everything that followed was based on fraud. The agency that runs the crisis center in Yakima County, claims to have shredded all of the original Superior Court Documents; this is also a violation of the law. Rick Weaver, the CEO of Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health, told me, "We do it all the time." He also stated that the Yakima County Superior Court Clerk loses documents all the time. I have no doubt the man is a liar. I've known for well over a decade he has no ethical integrity, and it seems he is without conscience.

No evidence was presented other than by my son's assigned (Defense?) attorney, Jennifer Lesmez WSB#34547 informing the judge that Isaac signed everything she had asked him to. He agreed he would stay in the hospital for 14 days and take whatever the doctor prescribed, and that this order could also be extended. He lost his gun rights permanently. (I personally don't care, he definitely doesn't -- he's afraid of them) He has been labeled as unwilling to seek help when he needed it--a lie. However, I do care that in fact, this is a violation of his Constitutional Rights. That there exists an an ongoing violation of his Constitutional Rights as long as this court order stands.

Court procedures are not only supposed to be lawfully conducted, they are to have the appearance of being lawfully conducted. The only evidence presented was his attorney testifying that he agreed he needed to be in the hospital--indeed he had sought to be hospitalized and had not tried to leave or object to being medicated. In fact, in crisis he did not object when Jeffrey Jennings put him back on the benzodiazapine he had been taken off of due to cardiac risk; AT TWICE THE DOSE. Without consulting Isaac's psychiatrist, his primary physician, or speaking to anyone who had direct knowledge of Isaac's care or condition for the previous 10 months! The people he did not consult included me, I am his mother, and care provider, whom he lives with; and his brother. Both of us escorted him to the crisis center and feel betrayed by this experience; we bear a guilt that is not our own. We foolishly placed our trust in this facility; and placed him in harm's way. Nancy Sherman betrayed our misplaced trust, as did Jeffrey Jennings and CWCMH CEO, Rick Weaver.

The entire time he was a client at CWCMH, he was assisted by me when any of the "business" part of getting his care was conducted. Apparently this doctor skipped the day the Hippocratic Oath was taken. I have read the chart of his entire inpatient stay. By the time this kangaroo court was held a little before nine in the morning on August 2nd, Isaac had been at the hospital since a little after 5 pm the previous Wednesday evening. His chart reflects that he remained calm, kept to himself and caused no problems on the unit. I raised holy hell from the time I found out by accident that my son was under a court order. I had visited Isaac Monday evening and I wonder now why he had no copy of the court order itself, or any of the documents submitted as “evidence”--what is missing? I know what is, the appearance of FAIRNESS, i.e. the appearance of Justice being done, is missing entirely.

What would you think if you went to the hospital and were put on a medication at twice the dose that your previous doctor advised you to no longer take due to the risk to your heart? You have Tachycardia, like my son. Would you want a second opinion? Prior to switching to his current doctor, Isaac had received his mental health services at Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health, (CWCMH.) Isaac didn't want to go there anymore because he said, the doctor did not listen to him. In fact, after his last appointment with the Dr. that he saw at CWCMH and before he had his first appointment with his current one, he told me one evening, "I haven't had a doctor listen to me since Dr. Holttum." My son was almost 22 when he said this. It had been nine years since he had seen Dr. Holttum. He had two doctors in the five years and ten months here in Yakima since I brought him home from CSTC, and at least two for the four years and three months at CSTC in Tacoma; and he doesn’t believe any of them have listened to him. My heart aches for my boy.

I ask you all, "Is this how this law is supposed to be enforced, enacted, perpetrated?" In it's entirety, the court record is actually clear and cogent evidence of a  felony crimes being perpetrated against my son in the hospital and in Yakima County Superior Court.   

Does this chain of events, which were criminal acts reflect the legislature’s intent when due to being heavily lobbied and misinformed by members of NAMI and the Treatment Advocacy Center, it passed RCW 71.05 and the subsequent revisions, to what is informally known as The Involuntary Treatment Act?

I suggest the judiciary committee quickly ascertain what needs to change to ensure this does not happen again. This type of lawless application of the Involuntary Treatment Act puts the State in a position of liability. Agents authorized by the State of Washington violated both Federal and State laws, and violated my son's Constitutional Rights. The people who committed these crimes, and the CEO of the CWCMH appear to have no concept of the ethical treatment of human beings and seem to lack the integrity to perform their jobs AS IF they have an ethical and a legal duty to comply with the law; and  obviously don’t understand that Rules of Evidence need to be followed; i.e. perjury and fraud are not “evidence” that should be used when seeking Court Orders. It is necessary for Court proceedings to comply not only the with letter of the law, but the spirit of the law by having the appearance of Justice being done.  The only conclusion I have come to as a result of the utter and complete failure of the criminals who perpetrated these crimes and made a mockery of the Superior Court, is that the Constitutional Rights of the "mentally ill" and provisions within Washington State’s  Involuntary Treatment Act  which theoretically preserve and defend individual rights when court ordered to involuntary treatment, are outlined within the statute for appearances only. The protections codified in the Constitution of the United States of America and in Washington State’s Constitution to Substantive and Procedural Due Process are not being effectively preserved, and the failures are not being investigated when they are reported.  In fact, it is obvious to me that having  mental health professionals act as agents for the State of Washington who have no clue on how these individual rights are actually preserved and defended is a guarantee that they will be violated as a matter of course with impunity.  The fact that these crimes were not investigated, by Law Enforcement, but were “investigated” by two social workers who did not speak to any witnesses who were present, and did no fact finding whatsoever---and apparently had not read The Hardy Boys or Encyclopedia Brown as kids either... All of this gives the impression that the State of Washington is intentionally violating the individual rights of people who are being committed Under Color of Law to Involuntary Treatment by the Superior Court of the State of Washington.

No evidence based on the facts was presented. Isaac was not present to face his accusers, no accusers were heard giving testimony. Indeed, only my son's attorney's voice is heard on the recording of the third hearing;  she sounds like the prosecutor; not a court appointed advocate for the defense; she basically put forth the State’s case. There is ample evidence this attorney purposely mounted no defense at all.

The following subsection defines the State's responsibility in Involuntary Treatment proceedings. I first informed a staff person at DSHS/BHR/DBHR--Ronald Moorhead, who told me that the department could not do anything since the Court was involved.

He actually claimed the State had no authority in Civil Commitment proceedings! The following is the sub-section of Washington State's Involuntary Treatment law that describes the department's obligation. The law grants the department the authority to investigate; indeed, it states the department has a legal duty to do so.

RCW 71.05.520

Protection of rights — Staff. The department of social and health services shall have the responsibility to determine whether all rights of individuals recognized and guaranteed by the provisions of this chapter and the Constitutions of the state of Washington and the United States are in fact protected and effectively secured. To this end, the department shall assign appropriate staff who shall from time to time as may be necessary have authority to examine records, inspect facilities, attend proceedings, and do whatever is necessary to monitor, evaluate, and assure adherence to such rights. Such persons shall also recommend such additional safeguards or procedures as may be appropriate to secure individual rights set forth in this chapter and as guaranteed by the state and federal Constitutions.

[1973 1st ex.s. c 142 § 57.]
September 2, 2012
The psychiatrist and the Deputy Prosecutor involved in violating my son's rights, are no longer employed by CWCMH and Yakima County respectively.

After these events, Washington State authorities failed to conduct a criminal investigation into the multiple felony crimes I reported.  I called David Reed, Manager for Adult and Older Adult Services Mental Health Division/DBHR to ask if there had ever been any allegations made that any individual's Constitutional Rights were violated in Involuntary Commitment proceedings---I knew the answer; I wanted to know if the man would tell the truth. He did not. He claimed to be unaware of any such complaints at all.

Governor Christine Gregoire appointed David Reed to investigate allegations that several individuals  had their individual rights violated in civil commitment proceedings in 2008. Why were reports that federal crimes had allegedly occurred not investigated by the State Police?  Having social workers who work for the State conduct what is (or should be) a criminal investigation is inappropriate; it is  an obvious Conflict of Interest. Being an Attorney, Christine Gregoire should have known better. Perhaps the real purpose of David Reed's 'investigation' was to provide the appearance that the State of Washington takes allegations of federal crimes committed against vulnerable people seriously. Let's be real, a complaint that alleges an individual has been confined and drugged without Procedural Due Process, is a Criminal Complaint---what training in criminal investigation has David Reed had?  Prior to filing my complaint with the State of Washington DSHS/MHD/DBHR two years ago, I filed a complaint with the Yakima Police Department, on August 7, 2010. After first filing the complaint with DSHS, on the 10th of August 2010, I also filed complaints with Disability Rights Washington, the GCBH Ombudsman both claimed they can not get involved when there is a Court Order... It seems to me that the State's response (and lack thereof) is simply an abdication of duty which is mandated by state law. The State wants to appear as if it takes crimes which violate the individual rights of the mentally ill 'seriously,' and also appear to conduct 'investigations' alleging criminal violations and improper application of statutory authority, without actually doing so. Criminal complaints need to be investigated by people trained to conduct criminal investigations, i.e. Law Enforcement.

The complaint I filed on my son's behalf was not taken seriously, and the so-called 'investigation' was conducted on October 27, 2010. I finally received a copy on November 30, 2010.  The so-called investigation addressed not a single one of the actual crimes which I reported---it consisted of a review of paperwork, and simply repeats the perjured testimony of Nancy Sherman and Jeffery Jennings. The report concludes by stating, "This process is about checks and balances and it is the opinion of the investigators reviewing this case that the rules were followed and that his rights were repeatedly and consistently respected as called for in the law."  Simply ludicrous all things considered.  The 'process' addressed none of the  Federal Crimes committed by Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health employees when obtaining a Court Order to detain and involuntarily treat my son, and did not even mention that the original Court Documents had been illegally shredded by Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health.

The basis for the initial detention sought by Nancy Sherman was her own perjured testimony in which she claimed that only Nathan had accompanied Isaac to the crisis center. In fact, both Nathan and I had accompanied Isaac. Nancy Sherman also supported her petition to detain with a fraudulent Affidavit that she attests to attaching to her petition but never filed this forged document with the Court Clerk. There is no polite way to say it: That bitch needs to lose her license to be a mental health professional, and be criminally prosecuted for the felony crimes she committed.  the “investigators” do not even mention that NO original documents existed for them to examine. The fact that all of the original Court record were shredded immediately by CWCMH is illegal, yet this crime is not even mentioned in the “investigator’s” report. In fact, the report states, "the rules were followed" and conclude that my son’s rights were protected. I can only conclude that felony perjury and fraud and shredding Superior Court Records are not against “the rules” when the State of Washington Under Color of Law deprives individuals of their Liberty and Court Orders them to psychiatric treatment based on testimony of people like Nancy Sherman and Jeffrey Jennings who have no problem lying under penalty of perjury in Superior Court and their boss, Rick Weaver, CEO of CWCMH, who stated that there is nothing wrong with CWCMH shredding the Court’s Record because, “We do it all the time.”

The “investigator’s report states that two people conducted the investigation, yet only one person is identified---Furthermore, according to the Law, when the authenticity of a document is in dispute, ONLY the ORIGINAL document can be used to determine the document’s authenticity.  When there are conflicting accounts of the events which have occurred, it is not possible to ethically draw any conclusions without hearing all accounts. Testimony offered by Affidavit the Court’s instructions state, must consist only of information that the attestor knows “first-hand.”  Jeffrey Jennings had absolutely no first-hand information---he refused to speak to anyone who actually knows my son, including his doctors, his brother, and his mother even though he had complete contact information. The so-called "investigators" didn't bother to interview the only people with first hand knowledge, Isaac, myself, and my elder son, Nathan. Isaac's Assigned Counsel allowed what she knew to be perjured testimony to go unchallenged, i.e. EFFECTIVE assistance of counsel was not provided.  The Deputy Prosecutor put forth what he knew to be perjured testimony. 

My son's rights were not respected, not preserved and not defended.

My son's rights were violated in every way possible.

I am trying to:

via Crossroads to Change:

"Due to a letter and request to Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire in early 2008, Carole Willey, a social justice activist & community organizer, Chair of CCC, received a letter from the Governor stating that she would assign David Reed, a staff person to work with Carole on these violations. With the documentation of the WA ST Mental Health Division finally acknowledging the “concerns,” the state agency agreed to forward his concerns to their Licensing staff, which they never did.

"On July 10, 2008, Carole, along with witnesses Therese Holiday & Ann Clifton (two healthcare advocates), met with David Reed of the Department of Social and Health Services / Mental Health Division (DSHS / MHD). They met to review her analysis of the two reports and discuss violations of inpatients’ rights at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, WA." read the rest here

David Reed's letters to Carole Willey here and  here

There is also a major development in the publicly funded mental health system in this community: Comprehensive Mental Health planning new 16-bed mental health facility. I suspect it is a direct result of CWCMH employees illegally detaining and committing my son.  The actions of Nancy Sherman, Jeffrey Jennings and Rick Weaver in effect and in fact made Yakima County, Washington State and the local hospital, unwitting accomplices to federal crimes which  violated my son's individual rights, deprived him of his liberty and his dignity; further traumatizing him.

It was three weeks before I was finally able to convince my son he was safe, and could go outside. Three weeks until my giant 6'3" 280 lb. son believed  it was safe to step into his own fenced yard.

"Whenever a doctor cannot do good, he must be kept from doing harm."

Hippocrates

"Whenever a doctor cannot do good, he must be kept from doing harm." 

Hippocrates