Case v. Montana

Brief Filed: 8/25
Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Year of Decision: Pending

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Whether specialized responses to individuals with mental illness can improve response outcomes, promote safety, and facilitate efficient spending as police officers, the “de facto mental health crisis responders’’ lack adequate mental health training.

Mentally Ill and Intellectual Disabilities (Rights of)

This case involves William Trevor Case as petitioner against the State of Montana. Over the past 50 years, law enforcement officers have increasingly become "the de facto mental health crisis responders," but officers commonly do not receive adequate training in how to engage most safely with individuals with mental illness who may be in distress or require aid. Approximately 10% of all police calls involve or concern individuals with serious mental illness, and law enforcement officers spend a disproportionate amount of time and resources responding to such calls. During extensive police training programs, recruits receive less than 20 hours of training on responding to mental health crises. Moreover, even with the increased focus on improving officer training, officers often feel unprepared to respond to mental health crises.

The lack of adequate mental health training for police officers is particularly problematic because it can lead to (1) physical harm to individuals with mental illness and officers and (2) individuals with mental illness entering the criminal justice system instead of receiving appropriate treatment. Responding to situations involving individuals with mental illness using traditional police tactics - such as verbal commands, displays of authority, and threats of physical force – can escalate already sensitive encounters, putting all parties, including the police officers, in danger. Because officers are often not trained to detect mental illness or to assess the need for treatment, interactions between individuals with mental illness and officers often lead to entry into the criminal justice system, as opposed to procuring treatment. Cities throughout the country have increasingly introduced intensive training programs and alternative response models that leverage guidance and assistance from mental health professionals in responding to mental health crises, including Crisis Intervention Teams ("CITs"), Crisis Response and Intervention Training ("CRIT"), and Mobile Crisis Teams ("MCTs"). Such programs also typically result in fewer arrests of individuals with mental illness, therefore providing long-term financial benefits to the criminal justice system.

Pending