
How the Supreme Court will weigh in on temporary legal guardian orders
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With the Supreme Courts new term starting this month, the justices are considering how to interpret temporary legal protections granted to people with mental illness and other disabilities in cases involving children.
The court is expected to hear oral arguments on Thursday from the Trump administration, as well as from some state attorneys general and some civil rights groups.
The court is likely to hold oral arguments in the case of an Illinois woman who is seeking to have her temporarily removed from the custody of her children because she is suffering from severe mental illness.
The ruling is expected by early next year.
A state appeals court panel upheld a lower court decision that found the state did not have the right to grant a temporary legal order, and that it should be revoked.
It also said the state could not prevent the court from considering a broader issue involving the permanency of the person.
Under a temporary protective order issued by a judge, the family is barred from having any contact with the person, but the judge can allow the family to contact the person if they do not pose a danger to themselves or others.
In some cases, a person with mental health problems can also have the protection.
But the court last month ordered the Trump White House to immediately reverse its decision to allow the temporary legal protection.
That ruling was a blow to the Trump family, as the president and other family members had sought to have their children and other people with special needs removed from their care.
“The President’s action today will have no impact on the pending case, and the Supreme Judicial Court has no authority to rule on the merits of this appeal,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
In a ruling last month, Justice Elena Kagan said the order did not give the president the authority to remove the person from his care and that the order should be rescinded immediately.