Federal judge rules in favor of Department of Justice in Mississippi mental health suit
Northeast Mississippi Daily JournalSep 08, 2021
Sep. 8—TUPELO — A federal judge has ruled in favor of the
U.S. District Judge
"In accordance with the terms of this Plan, the
One remedial order gives the monitor, Dr.
The cost of the monitor, including the cost of any staff or consultants to the monitor, will be paid by the state, although the monitor and his staff are not agents or representatives of the state.
Representatives from the
The issue of a monitor became a thorny in the litigation, which drew a strong rebuke from the state. The state vehemently objected to the appointment of a monitor, but argued that if a monitor was going to be appointed, it should only act as an independent agent confirming the state is meeting pre-determined benchmarks of success.
"The Court should expressly instruct the Monitor not to consider matters that go beyond reporting to the Court on whether
The state also wanted to deny the monitor the authority to enforce a remedial plan, interfere with the management of
The DOJ, on the other hand, asked the court for a more robust monitoring process that would allow Hogan to conduct regular assessment, advise mental health providers and speak with state officials — similar to Reeves' final order.
"To preserve, as much as possible, the State's resources for the services that prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, the monitor should work efficiently," the DOJ previously argued. "Toward this same end, the monitor should make recommendations and provide technical assistance to guide the state toward compliance."
"It's long past time for the
Will the lawsuit spark an appeal by
Now that Reeves has issued a final order in the litigation, the
Toward the end of litigation, attorneys representing the state in the suit objected multiple times to an external monitor. At one point, they asked the court to dismiss the DOJ suit altogether.
Attorney General
The federal government began investigating the state's mental health system 10 years ago and concluded that
The state initially attempted to enter into a mediation process with the federal government, but that process eventually fell apart. The justice department then sued the state in 2016.
The state was forced to enter into a remedial process after
Although a final order has been entered in the case, the litigation is not necessarily over.
Reeves' order requires the state, with participation from the federal government and Hogan, a clinical review process to evaluate the effectiveness of the mental health services it offers. The state would be required to conduct the clinical review each year.
Only when the court believes that the state has substantially come into compliance with federal law for at least a year, will the court's latest order be terminated.
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