For what reasons can a Marchman Act petition be denied?
Under the Marchman Act statute, there are several steps in the process to getting somebody court-ordered into involuntary treatment. Initially, the court is going to review the petition to determine if it’s legally sufficient. It could be denied at that step of the process, or if the court determines that it’s legally sufficient, and the respondent comes before the court and successfully rebuts the allegations that have been made in the petition, at that point, the court may determine that an assessment is not necessary, or the court may determine that the petition is legally sufficient, that an assessment is necessary. Then the assessment may come back and say, “No, this person doesn’t need treatment.” It could be denied at any of those steps during the Marchman Act process.