Court allows forced meds for bank robbery suspect

ATLANTA – A lawyer for a paranoid schizophrenic says he'll ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal appeals panel's decision letting prison doctors forcibly medicate the man so he can stand trial on bank robbery charges.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday issued one of the few rulings since a 2003 high court ruling that forcible medication should be used only rarely — and when less intrusive methods won't work.

Michael Diaz's attorneys argued prison doctors didn't exhaust other options before seeking to forcibly medicate him after he was charged in 2004 with two bank robberies.

Diaz had been convicted at earlier trial, but the 11th Circuit reversed the conviction. A federal judge subsequently found Diaz incompetent to stand trial and ordered treatment.

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Online:

http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200915421.pdf