Mental Hygiene Law Retention Hearings

A mental hygiene facility such as a hospital’s psychiatric ward cannot retain you against your will without you first being afforded certain well-defined due process rights. Among those rights is to demand a Mental Hygiene Law Retention Hearing at which the mental hygiene facility must demonstrate, by clear and convincing evidence, that there is a legal basis to your continued retention because you pose a substantial threat of harm to yourself and/or others.

These retention hearings are presided over by a Supreme Court Judge and can be held on-site at the facility or at an outside location. Our attorneys have unique experience in representing privately-retained clients in Mental Hygiene Law Article 9 proceedings and we fight diligently to protect their rights in these and related proceedings.