Court weighs contempt as Louisiana admits missing forensic admission deadlines
In a September 2021 order in Cooper v. Phillips, a federal magistrate judge in Baton Rouge took up plaintiffs' request for post-judgment discovery and a contempt hearing. The 2016 settlement requires behavioral health assessments within five days, emergency admissions within two business days, and other admissions to the state forensic hospital within 15 calendar days.
The Department of Health conceded noncompliance with four provisions, attributing it to COVID-19 restrictions that have pushed admission times regularly past 15 days since March 2020. The judge chose to permit discovery through December 1, 2021 and deferred any contempt ruling until the record was more complete.
The order is the clearest primary-source record that the forensic waitlist reopened during the pandemic, years before it drew wider press attention.
Source: ORDER — U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana (via GovInfo), by U.S. District Court, M.D. La.
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