Behavioral Sciences and the Law Behav. Sci. Law 18: 731±740 (2000) Procedural Justice in the Context of Civil Commitment: An Analogue Study Michele Cascardi, Ph.D.,* Norman G. Poythress, Ph.D., and Alicia Hall, M.A. Procedural justice theory posits that the process by which disputes are resolved in¯uences perceptions of fairness and satisfaction with outcomes, even if the outcomes are unfavorable. Within the context of civil commitment, Tyler (1992) has suggested that enhancing respondents' perceptions of procedural justice (i.e., participation, dig- nity, and trust) during commitment proceedings might facilitate accommodation to an adverse judicial determi- nation (i.e., commitment) and subsequently enhance therapeutic outcomes. The study reported here used vi- deotapes of mock commitment hearings to examine whether patients committed for involuntary treatment are sensitive to procedural justice manipulations. Results suggest that patients are sensitive to procedural justice manipulations and, further, that such manipulations are likely to in¯uence the patients' attitude toward psychiatric care. These ®ndings suggest that the development of stra- tegies to enhance patients' perceptions of procedural justice in commitment hearings may indeed have positive therapeutic implications and warrants further investiga- tion. Copyright # 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Procedural justice theory posits that the process by which disputes are resolved in¯uences perceptions of fairness and satisfaction with outcomes, even if the outcomes are unfavorable (Lind & Tyler, 1988). Studies have demonstrated that respect accorded by authorities and an opportunity to state one's case, or voice, are key process elements that in¯uence fairness perceptions. Civil commitment hearings are the dispute resolution forum in which a decision regarding a person's (the "respondent's") need for involuntary psychiatric hospitalization is made. An in- dividual with mental illness, who is deemed by a judge to be a danger to self or others and/or to be unable to care for self without the aid of others, is court ordered to Copyright # 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. *Correspondence to: Michele Cascardi, Ph.D., Dating Violence Prevention Project, 169 Forest Ave. Glen Ridge, NJ 07028, USA. E-mail: mcascardi@aol.com Michele Cascardi, Ph.D., is with the Dating Violence Prevention Project in Glen Ridge, NJ, U.S.A. Norman G. Poythress, Ph.D., is with the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the University of South Florida. Alicia Hall, M.A., is with the Department of Psychology at the University of South Florida. Portions of this paper were presented in February 1996 at the Biennial American Psychology and Law Society, Hilton Head, SC.