Appeals court finds DHS violated ’48-hour rule’ for moving inmates to mental health treatment

The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday issued a ruling that the state Department of Human Services violated a duty to place mentally ill patients in state-operated treatment facilities within 48 hours of a judge’s order for civil commitment.

The opinion comes after multiple lawsuits were filed against DHS for failing to transfer patients under civil commitment to state hospitals in a timely manner. The delays have led to mentally ill inmates staying in jail long past the 48-hour deadline — sometimes for weeks or months.

5 INVESTIGATES has reported extensively on the crisis, which DHS officials said is rooted in a lack of funding for mental health beds.

The case the appeals court ruled on concerns the commitment of Tokvan Ly in Scott County District Court. A judge committed Ly to treatment for schizoaffective order on Oct. 21, 2023, but he remained in jail for more than two months while he waited for a treatment bed to open up.

“… The Minnesota Commissioner of Human Services has a clear legal duty to admit covered patients to a state-operated treatment program within 48 hours of a district court’s issuance of an order of commitment. And the commissioner violated that clear legal duty,” the ruling states.

While the Minnesota Legislature amended the 48-hour law in 2023 to only require DHS to move inmates to state facilities after a medically appropriate bed becomes available, Monday’s ruling notes that amendment expires on June 30.

The panel of judges also ruled that a Scott County district judge’s order requiring DHS to provide monthly reports on each inmate sitting in jail instead of a hospital was beyond that lower court’s authority.

A DHS spokesman issued the following statement: “We have received the court’s ruling and will be reviewing along with the Attorney General’s Office to consider next steps.”