August 4, 2016 Rights for People with Mental Illness Subject of Constitution Day Program Sept. 7

In commemoration of Constitution Day, the Law Library of Congress will host a discussion about the rights of persons living with mental illness in the United States. The event will feature board-certified forensic psychiatrist Robert Maman.

The discussion will take place at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 7, in room LJ-119 of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Dr. Maman will address modern-day perspectives on the care and treatment of the mentally ill in terms of their status within the criminal justice system, and new developments— driven in great part by constitutional concerns—to ensure that the mentally ill are properly medically treated.

He will also discuss issues of privacy and security relating to the mentally ill within the criminal justice system. Finally, he will explore how social issues relating to trauma of combat and abuse of prescription drugs are being handled in light of civil-rights considerations.

Dr. Maman has held various posts in the areas of mental health and criminal justice. Originally from France, Dr. Maman did his residency in psychiatry at Temple University in Philadelphia and a fellowship in forensic psychiatry at the Oregon Health Science Center in Portland.

He is a graduate of the Washington College of Law at American University and is admitted to the District of Columbia and the United States Patent bars. He is member of the American Bar Association and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Dr. Maman has had a longstanding interest in areas such as addiction and mental health, and was the founder of an innovative addiction treatment program called “Blue Gate” for the State of Maryland. He was also the medical director at the Patuxent (Maryland) correctional facility. Recently, Dr. Maman served on a Montgomery County, Maryland, task force that was directed to develop a mental-health adjudication process for the county. Dr. Maman retired from state service in December of 2015, and currently directs the outpatient clinic of Omni House in Glen Burnie, Maryland.

Constitution Day was established by Congress in 2004 to recognize the ratification of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at Congress.gov and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.

The Law Library of Congress was founded in 1832 with the mission to make its resources available to members of Congress, the Supreme Court, other branches of the U.S. government and the global legal community, and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of law for future generations. With more than 2.9 million volumes, the Law Library contains the world’s largest collection of law books and other resources from all countries and provides online databases and guides to legal information worldwide through its website at loc.gov/law.