Forced Medication

• Author: Mace J. Yampolsky
• Pages: 161-170

161

Chapter

Forced Medication

Mace J. Yampolsky

10

Forced medication or Sell hearings are relatively rare. As such, there is not a

lot written about how to approach them. For a criminal defense lawyer, it is

not simply a matter opposing the prosecution’s position because your client

does not want to take his or her medication. Rather, the forcible administra-

tion of medication could have profound impact on trial strategy as well as

longer-term health consequences.

This chapter by Attorney Mace Yampolsky provides background on the

litigation surrounding forced medication as well as provides practical tips for

preparing for a hearing on forced medication.

• • •

The Beginnings of Forced Medication

It Started with Riggins

The Supreme Court case of Riggins v. Nevada1 was not just the most

famous case I have ever handled but it was also the most interesting. It was

the first murder case I ever tried, and a capital case at that. When the trial

court ruled that Mr. Riggins could not refuse his prescribed psychotropic

medication Mellaril, which is used to suppress psychotic behavior, I was

astonished. Mr. Riggins’s only defense was insanity. There was no ques-

tion that he killed the decedent. Aside from the effects of his medication,

1 504 U.S. 127 (1992).