182
Opinion of the Court
if forced medication is warranted for a different purpose, such as the purposes set out in Harper related to the individual's dangerousness, or purposes related to the individual's own interests where refusal to take drugs puts his health gravely at risk. 494 U. S., at 225-226. There are often strong reasons for a court to determine whether forced administration of drugs can be justified on these alternative grounds before turning to the trial competence question.
For one thing, the inquiry into whether medication is permissible, say, to render an individual nondangerous is usually more "objective and manageable" than the inquiry into whether medication is permissible to render a defendant competent. Riggins, supra, at 140 (Kennedy, J., concurring in judgment). The medical experts may find it easier to provide an informed opinion about whether, given the risk of side effects, particular drugs are medically appropriate and necessary to control a patient's potentially dangerous behavior (or to avoid serious harm to the patient himself) than to try to balance harms and benefits related to the more quintessentially legal questions of trial fairness and competence.
For another thing, courts typically address involuntary medical treatment as a civil matter, and justify it on these alternative, Harper-type grounds. Every State provides avenues through which, for example, a doctor or institution can seek appointment of a guardian with the power to make a decision authorizing medication—when in the best interests of a patient who lacks the mental competence to make such a decision. E. g., Ala. Code §§ 26-2A-102(a), 26-2A- 105, 26-2A-108 (West 1992); Alaska Stat. §§ 13.26.105(a), 13.26.116(b) (2002); Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 14-5303, 14-5312 (West 1995); Ark. Code Ann. §§ 28-65-205, 28-65-301 (1987). And courts, in civil proceedings, may authorize involuntary medication where the patient's failure to accept treatment threatens injury to the patient or others. See, e. g., 28 CFR § 549.43 (2002); cf. 18 U. S. C. § 4246.
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