P.B.
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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An involuntary placement order must be reversed when the State fails to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the criteria under section 394.467(2)(b) are satisfied, including a substantial likelihood of harm or substantial neglect.
[1] The State bears the burden of establishing criteria for involuntary mental health placement by clear and convincing evidence, and the mere existence of mental illness is…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The state has the burden to establish the criteria for involuntary placement set out in [section 394.467] by clear and convincing evidence. . . . The mere fact of mental illness is insufficient justification for involuntary commitment.”
Court citing Singletary v. State, 765 So. 2d 180, 181 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000) to establish the legal standard for involuntary placement.
P.B. was ordered involuntarily placed based on her refusal of medical treatment for a hypertensive health condition. The State sought to establish tha…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FOURTH DISTRICT
P.B., Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.
No. 4D2025-0118
[October 22, 2025]
Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County; Charles
E.
Burton, Judge;
L.T.
Case No. 502024MH002609.
Daniel Eisinger, Public Defender, and Narine N. Austin, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Jacqueline I. Kurland, Senior Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.
ON CONFESSION OF ERROR
PER CURIAM.
The appellant, P.B., challenges the circuit court’s order granting a petition for involuntary placement under section 394.467(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2024). P.B. argues the evidence presented below was insufficient to establish that: her refusal of medical treatment for an ongoing hypertensive health condition was caused by mental illness rather than a simple refusal to take medications; a substantial likelihood existed that she would inflict serious bodily harm on herself or others in the near future; or she would suffer from neglect without treatment and such neglect posed a real threat of substantial harm to her well-being.
The State concedes the evidence was insufficient to establish substantial neglect or a substantial likelihood that P.B. would harm herself or others. After reviewing the record, we accept the confession of error and reverse the involuntary placement order. See Singletary v. State,
2
765 So. 2d 180, 181 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000) (“The state has the burden to establish the criteria for involuntary placement set out in [section 394.467] by clear and convincing evidence. . . . The mere fact of mental illness is insufficient justification for involuntary commitment.”).
Reversed.
MAY, CIKLIN and KLINGENSMITH, JJ., concur.
* * *
Not final until disposition of timely-filed motion for rehearing.