What laws, rules or statutes govern how long police need to wait before arresting, detaining and questioning a suspect who is hospitalized for a drug overdose?
My niece was removed from her hospital bed against her physician's recommendation after having overdosed on drugs. I am filing an 11.07 writ.
The laws governing when the police can arrest, detain or question a suspect vary by state and by circumstance, and are widely varied since they are entirely different concepts!
As you state your niece was "removed" from her bed, I assume you meant that she was taken into custody (i.e. arrested) by the police while in the hospital. If so, the police CAN generally do this. However, if she
suffers harm being arrested while she is still in NEED of medical services, and did not also want to leave, then (assuming she is an adult) she can sue for the damages. Such an arrest would not make it
per se unlawful, however, and if this is TX, the 11.07 writ appears to have to do with post-conviction relief, which would not generally be concerning an arrest.
As a note, one CAN leave against a doctor's medical advice. The police can even make an arrest against said advice. However, most jails will not accept a booking of a prisoner who is in current need of treatment. If some harm should result from the transfer from a medical facility, then that prisoner/patient may well have grounds for civil action.
So, a few more details would be helpful.
