WSHA has filed an amicus curiae brief in Division I of the Washington State Court of Appeals on behalf of our membership. The case involves a hospital’s independent right to participate in a mental health detention proceeding. At the lower, superior court level, arguments were made that a hospital is adequately represented by the prosecuting attorney whose role is to advocate for detention of the patient. WSHA takes the position that the prosecutor cannot offer perspective on a hospital’s capacity to provide treatment and is inherently conflicted by the prosecutor’s primary role, which is to represent the interests of the state in detaining the patient. (Taya Briley)
