The District Court accepted Jones' argument that requiring him to remain involuntarily confined in state psychiatric treatment until his prison sentence ended would violate his Due Process Clause constitutional right to challenge his transfer.

[1] In November 1977, Jones was granted parole, releasing him from involuntary psychiatric care on the condition that he accept treatment from a Veterans' Administration hospital.

By the time the Supreme Court re-heard the case in December 1979, Jones had violated his parole conditions, leading to his reincarceration in the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex.

[3] Part IV-B of White's opinion claimed that state governments must provide prisoners facing psychiatric hospital transfer proceedings with a licensed attorney because those with alleged mental illness are "more likely to be unable to understand or exercise [their] rights."

Referencing the Supreme Court's 1973 verdict in Gagnon v. Scarpelli, which denied legal counsel to convicts facing revocation of their probation, Powell reasoned that because the essential facts of a psychiatric transfer hearing would be undisputed, non-lawyers would suffice.