Second Court of Appeals

Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued - Week of December 4, 2023.

NOTE: Summaries are prepared by the court's staff attorneys and law clerks for public information only and reflect his or her interpretation alone of the facts and legal issues. The summaries are not part of the court's opinion in the case and should not be cited to, quoted, or relied upon as the opinion of the court.

Links to full text of opinions (PDF version) can be accessed by clicking the cause number.

In re L.G., Jr., No. 02-23-00290-CV (Dec. 7, 2023) (Wallach, J., joined by Birdwell and Womack, JJ.).

Held: Legally and factually sufficient evidence supported the trial court’s finding that a mental health patient lacked the capacity to make a decision regarding the administration of the proposed medication, even though the patient testified at the hearing and showed that he understood why he was hospitalized and the nature and consequences of his criminal cases.  Texas Health and Safety Code Section 574.101 defines capacity not in terms of the patient’s ability to understand the nature and consequences of his “current situation”—that is, the finding that he is incompetent, his hospitalization, and his pending criminal cases—but in terms of his ability to understand the nature and consequences of a “proposed treatment.”