This commentary explores the relationship among the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead decision; the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, in its application of CRIPA (the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Patients Act); and the application of both CRIPA and Olmstead to the question of individuals hospitalized in state mental institutions following commitment from criminal courts. Using Oregon as an example, the commentary illustrates the interplay between state and federal governments as Olmstead and CRIPA are expanded into the realm of criminal court commitments to state facilities and into the arena of community mental health services for deinstitutionalized persons.