STATE SUPREME COURT SELECTS MEMBERS OF
MENTAL HYGIENE COMMISSION

        CHARLESTON, W.Va. - - The Supreme Court of Appeals has appointed 34 West Virginians to a newly formed Commission on Mental Hygiene Reform, Chief Justice Larry V. Starcher announced. The Commission will review and assess current mental hygiene laws, policies, practices and procedures, and propose specific recommendations for change in a report to be filed with the Supreme Court on December 10, 1999.
    
        The Commission members represent patients, families, advocates, medical and social service professionals, providers, law enforcement and the court system. Morgantown attorney and former Monongalia County Mental Hygiene Commissioner, Bill Byrne, is the Commission's chair.

        The Commission will kick off with a meeting on April 7 in Flatwoods by featuring three nationally prominent mental health experts. Paul Stavis is the Director of the Law and Psychiatry Center at George Mason University School of Law and a professor of law and psychiatry. Mary Zdanowicz is the founding Executive Director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, a national organization working to eliminate legal and clinical barriers to the treatment of Americans with severe brain disorders. Xavier Amador is a psychology professor at Columbia University's Department of Psychiatry, as well as a consultant on psychology and health for NBC's Today Show.

        At the first meeting, the Commission will begin its task of information gathering and evaluating West Virginia's mental hygiene laws, which were enacted over 30 years ago. Since that time, there have been significant changes in the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses, disorders and conditions. "The creation of a commission on mental hygiene was a recommendation of the Commission on the Future of the West Virginia Judiciary. There is widespread support of the Mental Hygiene Commission's task," Chief Justice Starcher said.

    The Mental Hygiene Commission will have public comment sessions in Beckley, Charleston, Martinsburg and Morgantown in May. Written comments to the Commission also may be sent to: Alison Chambers at the Supreme Court of Appeals, State Capitol Complex, Building One, Room E- 100, Charleston, WV 25305.

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