APA Dictionary of Psychology

a 1975 lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court in which it was determined that people cannot be involuntarily committed to a facility on the basis of mental illness alone if they are not dangerous to themselves or others and are able to survive safely outside the facility. A lower court ruling in this case assisted an Alabama District Court in its final ruling in Wyatt v. Stickney (1972) regarding right to treatment with involuntary commitment (see forced treatment; Wyatt v. Stickney decision).