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After a 47-year-old Maine woman was killed by her mentally ill son who had been released from a psychiatric hospital despite safety concerns expressed by his family, Fulbright attorneys stepped in to try to prevent the tragedy from happening to another family.

Bob Owen
Partner
New York


Mark Robertson
Partner
New York


Jena Goldmark
Associate
New York

Fulbright partners Bob Owen, Mark Robertson and associate Jena Goldmark assisted the widower, Joe Bruce, in making a compelling case before the Maine legislature. Bruce addressed care for the mentally ill, the role of patient advocates and disclosure of risks to those likely to be harmed by the patient. Bruce’s strong testimony and the materials prepared by the Fulbright team led to the passage of three bills that have been signed into law by Maine Governor John E.Baldacci.

“Joe has now succeeded in helping to reduce the chances that such a terrible situation will occur within another family,” Owen said.

In Maine, as in many American jurisdictions, the laws were rewritten 30 years ago to protect the civil liberties of patients. The laws called for strict patient confidentiality and allowed those over 18 years of age to have a say in their own treatment, unless they posed an “imminent” danger to themselves or others. One unanticipated negative effect of the laws, well-intended at the time, was to exclude altogether the families of adult patients from all treatment, confinement and release decisions.

Joe Bruce successfully worked to change those laws.

Bruce’s son, William, a paranoid schizophrenic, had requested his own release from a psychiatric hospital. William Bruce's family was excluded from his treatment meetings. It was only through stunning medical records obtained by Joe Bruce, with Fulbright’s assistance, that the family learned William’s own doctor had been prevented by a team of “patient advocates” from discussing William’s case with his own family. The records also showed that despite the strong and persistent warnings of William’s first doctor, the patient advocates strongly lobbied for his unsupervised release into society.

“The patient advocates acted as if William’s treatment meetings with his doctor were adversary depositions, and told him how to answer questions and interposed directions not to answer,” Owen said. “Their heedless efforts led very directly to William’s release. A short time later, Amy Bruce was dead – something Joe Bruce feared would happen if his son was released.”

The revealing medical records are posted to a web site (www.amybruce.org) along with a summary and a detailed chronology. Fulbright lawyers created the documents and the Web site, which proved to be powerful tools in Joe Bruce's effort to change the laws.

With the arsenal of documents prepared by Fulbright attorneys, Joe Bruce gave what one observer described as “wrenching” testimony before the Maine legislators.

The recently passed and enacted bills are:

• LD 1033, which ensures that a court hearing is held before a person is involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital and before a patient is given mandatory medication.
• LD 1119, which allows a mental health professional to disclose information about the mental or medical status of an individual who may be affected by another individual’s conduct and makes this notification a requirement for those who are to care for the patient and may be put in dangerous situations.
• LD 1855, which adds clarity to the existing law on involuntary admissions for psychiatric hospitalizations.

William Bruce was found not criminally responsible for killing his mother. He is now back at the psychiatric hospital that released him a year ago – this time indefinitely. Joe Bruce can’t change what happened to his family, but through these new laws, he has done what he can to change the system in powerful ways.

“These laws represent tremendous positive change in Maine’s mental health laws, perhaps more than anything in the last 50 years,” said Joe Bruce, noting he could not have done it without the help of Fulbright. “The work Fulbright has done will result in helping many, many people.”