Judge Carlton Reeves of the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi ruled Wednesday that the state violated the rights of residents with severe mental illness (SMI) due to its lack of local treatment options.

In his decision, Reeves noted that:

On paper, Mississippi has a mental health system with an array of appropriate community-based services. In practice, however, the mental health system is hospital-centered and has major gaps in its community care. The result is a system that excludes adults with SMI from full integration into the communities in which they live and work, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The ruling comes after a four-week trial that saw the US Department of Justice (DOJ) allege that Mississippi had violated the ADA. Olmstead v. LC, a 1999 Supreme Court case, found that people with mental illnesses have the same protections and guarantees as people with any other ADA-protected disability ensuring that they have the most integrated and equal experiences in public spaces as possible. During the trial, the DOJ demonstrated that Mississippi’s lack of local treatment options had resulted in dozens of unnecessary hospitalizations for people with SMI.

Reeves will appoint a special master to assure the state’s compliance with the ADA.