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Civil Rights - Right To Treatment - Neither Due Process Nor Equal Protection Clause Of The Fourteenth Amendment Guarantees The "Right To Treatment" For Mentally Retarded Children Confined In A State Institution Through Noncriminal Procedures

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Civil rights action was brought on behalf of residents at Willowbrook State Hospital by their parents and guardians attacking the conditions and treatment offered violated due process and equal protection. The court refused to extend a right to treatment to patients civilly committed to state hospitals - forestalling an extension of such rights to the retarded. Plaintiffs sought to classify the vast majority of commitments as involuntary despite original admission data mandating due process protection. The court determined that a hearing with procedural safeguards would suffice and in certain situations the court may find the appointment of a guardian at …