Issues: 302 expungement, Pennsylvania expungement of involuntary commitment.  

This case involved the appeal of an expungement of the records of a 302 involuntary commitment. The appellant in this case went to his primary care physician’s office. His physician noted that he had made threats of violence against a co-worker. His doctor then filled out an involuntary commitment form that he was a danger to others and therefore, severely mentally disabled requiring inpatient treatment. In that application, the doctor wrote that the appellant stated he would strangle another person and gave the person’s name. The appellant further stated to the doctor that he was not sure when or where he would strangle the person but would do it when he next saw the person. 

The appellant filed a petition to expunge the involuntary commitment record stating that he made those statements just “blowing off steam” to his doctor. The appellant further argued that he committed no act in furtherance of his statements as required by the involuntary commitment statute. 

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania first definitively ruled that a threat and act in furtherance of that threat are required before an involuntary commitment can occur. However, the Court then held that “the articulation of a specific plan to harm an identified target that is deemed credible by medical professionals is sufficient to prove an act in furtherance of the threat to commit harm.” The Court believed this plan was fully formed because the appellant detailed the named target of the threat, the method of carrying out the threat, and the imminence of the threat. The Court then denied expungement of the involuntary commitment based upon this reasoning.