Fed court allows forced meds for suspect

ATLANTA — An attorney for a paranoid schizophrenic plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal appeals panel's decision to allow prison doctors to forcibly medicate his client so he can stand trial on bank robbery charges.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling released Thursday was one of very few decisions on the issue that have been handed down since the Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that forcible medication should be used only rarely, and only if less intrusive alternatives cannot achieve the same results.

Michael Diaz's attorneys argued that federal authorities didn't exhaust other options before they sought to forcibly inject medication after he was charged in April 2004 with two armed bank robberies in Atlanta. Attorney Tim Saviello said authorities tried to give his client "mind-altering substances" without exploring other alternatives.

But prosecutors contended that Diaz was dismissive of medical workers and spent most of his time working on legal papers when he was asked to submit to treatment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zahra Karinshak said in oral arguments in November that Diaz "doesn't believe he is mentally ill and he doesn't think it will help him."

The court's ruling concluded that prosecutors had "ample evidence" to prove that Diaz repeatedly refused to take medication and that alternative treatments were ineffective. The ruling, written by Circuit Judge Frank Hull, said that additional conversati

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