No Fixed Address · Episode 5 of 11 · 18 min
The 72-Hour Hold: When Can the State Commit Someone?
In 1981 a San Jose psychiatric team asked a judge to keep holding a young man they thought could not survive alone; he said he would sleep under a freeway bridge, and the judge freed him. That exchange opens a tour of California's Lanterman-Petris-Short Act and the unresolved argument, reopened by SB 43 and CARE Court, over whether it protects or abandons people.
Who's who
- Ronald Reagan+11 more episodesCalifornia governor who signed the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act in 1967
Where it happens
- San Jose, California+3 more episodesSite of the 1981 case, with the man sheltering under the I-280 bridge
- California+30 more episodesState whose commitment law, 5150 holds and CARE Court are examined
Timeline
- 1967The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act is signed; it takes full effect July 1, 1972
- 2018-19SB 1045 and SB 40 create and revise a housing-conservatorship pilot
- 2022The CARE Act is signed; all 58 counties are operating by December 2024
- January 1, 2024SB 43 takes effect, broadening grave disability, with counties allowed to defer to 2026
- December 2025SB 27 is signed, strengthening and expanding the CARE Act
Still debated
The core disagreement is liberty versus care, and whether coerced treatment improves long-term outcomes is genuinely mixed. Critics say SB 43 expands who can be held without adding beds, and CARE Court uptake has run far below projections with a high dismissal rate.
← PreviousMental Illness, Addiction, and Homelessness: Cause or Consequence?Next →Housing First: Does Giving People Homes Actually Work?
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