Compulsory Psychotropic Medication in the California State Prison System

In Washington v. Harper, the U.S. Supreme Court established that an administrative review conducted by prison staff was the minimum constitutionally appropriate due process for the administration of compulsory nonemergent antipsychotic medication. California's current process, Penal Code section 2602 (PC2602), uses a judicial review allowing for either emergent (medication beginning with application) or nonemergent routes. This article describes the history culminating with PC2602, beginning with the notion of civil death enacted in 1850, followed by the 1986 Keyhea injunction. Framed by problems that emerged, PC2602 was enacted in 2011, which is described from both legal-administrative and clinical perspectives.