Riese v. St. Mary's Hospital and Medical Center.

An involuntarily committed mentally ill patient was held to retain the right to refuse treatment with antipsychotic drugs, unless the committing court specifically denies the patient this right and authorizes a conservator to make an informed consent decision. The California Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling which had allowed the forcible injection of medication into a patient who withheld consent because of the severe side effects she suffered. The appellate court emphasized that patients in mental hospitals may not be presumed to be incompetent solely because of their hospitalization and that involuntarily committed patients receiving medication as a result of their mental illness must be given, as soon as possible after detention, written and oral information about the name, dosage, and frequency of the medication as well as about its probable therapeutic effects, possible side effects, and the reasonable alternative treatments available.