Published opinion, 8 September 2016 · source · PDF · 52 pages
Culwell, Lakewood, Colorado, for Respondent- Appellant 1 ¶ 1 This case requires us to decide whether the Denver Probate Court had the authority to order the involuntary administration of a drug to “chemically castrate” 1 C.J.R., a person civilly committed to a state hospital. We hold that absent legislative authority, which does not exist, the probate court has no such authority. Therefore, we reverse the portion of the probate court’s order authorizing the involuntary administration of the drug Depo-Provera.
Facts and Procedural History ¶ 2 C.J.R. is a long-term patient at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan (state hospital), where he has been treated for a schizoaffective disorder, which is a form of psychosis. Manifestations of his illness include hallucinations about dead babies and the belief that his food and his medicine are 1 The term “chemical castration” has been used by a number of courts and other authorities to describe the use of the drug Depo- Provera on men to control their sexual desires and behavior. See, e.g., People v.