Mental health competency delays cost state millions
Enumclaw Courier-HeraldJul 11, 2018
The state is paying millions of dollars a year in sanctions because it's unable to evaluate the mental health competency of jailed defendants in a timely manner.
Soon, some of those languishing lengthy periods behind bars might need to be released and charges against them dismissed.
On
The man,
What happened to Hand after his
A lawsuit launched in Snohomish County led to an
As extended waits persist, trial courts are imposing sanctions on the state
"This case is not unique. It is not isolated. But it is representative of a pervasive and ongoing systemic problem,"
Trombley asked the court to dismiss the charges and give lower courts the ability to release defendants and dismiss charges if court-ordered treatment is not provided within timelines set out in state law and by the federal court.
Serial killers like
And such a move by the court isn't going to make DSHS work faster, he contended.
"Dismissing prosecutions would not in my opinion give Western State any more incentive to do its job well because its mandate is not our mandate," he said.
But Supreme Court Justice
"I find myself attracted to the argument because there seems to be no other recourse. Nothing seems to have worked," Yu said to Ruyf. "I am really troubled by it so what are you offering as an alternative other than don't worry about it and forget the due process?"
Yu said there needed to be "some bright lines" for trial courts. She suggested lower courts be allowed to dismiss charges without prejudice if a person has spent a certain period of time locked up and waiting. This would leave the door open for prosecutors to refile the charges.
Ruyf argued against a threshold of a specific number of days and for giving lower courts discretion to consider the merits of each case.
"It could be a serial killer or it could be someone who is homeless who fails to appear," Yu responded. "It really could be the whole range. There just can't be an open-ended detention."