North Carolina lawmakers are now taking a closer look at how people with mental health issues can be involuntarily committed for treatment in the wake of a new law they passed — in September.

In the court system, we often deal with people suffering from mental illness or chemical dependency. Sometimes their condition is serious enough to warrant taking away their liberty via court order.

At a moment when the meaning and vitality of the rule of law are hotly debated, we risk forgetting that the principles we now take for granted were not inevitable—they were fought for, often by ...