Tracking competence-to-stand-trial news across the United States. Click a pin to open the story. Statewide items are pinned at the state capitol; national stories are listed under the National tag.
Where it happened (primary)
Other jurisdictions mentioned (secondary)
Latest stories
-
Court ends monitoring in Stiavetti case after finding California in substantial compliance Statewide
Source: ACLU of Northern California
-
Lawsuit says Florida leaves mentally ill defendants in jail for months past legal limit Statewide
Source: WLRN, by Sharmila Venkatasubban | The Florida Trib
-
Judge rejects Texas's request to pause competency wait-time order
Source: Texas Public Radio, by Diego Medel | San Antonio Report
-
Texas appeals ruling requiring faster hospital admission for incompetent defendants Statewide
Source: The Texas Tribune, by Katlyn Ma and Alex Nguyen
-
Virginia Beach opens jail-based restoration pod to cut waits for state hospital beds
Source: WTKR News 3, by John Hood
-
Georgia breaks ground on first new state psychiatric hospital in 50 years
Source: Georgia Recorder, by Ellie Fivas
-
Maryland Supreme Court upholds courts' power to fine the health department over slow hospital admissions of incompetent defendants Statewide
Source: Maryland Judiciary, by Supreme Court of Maryland (opinion by Justice Biran)
-
Federal court rules Texas's competency wait times unconstitutional, orders 21-day cap Statewide
Source: Disability Rights Texas
-
California law expands judges' discretion in competency diversion cases Statewide
Source: Becker's Behavioral Health, by Ella Ruder
-
New York lawmakers pass bills to speed up competency rulings and study restoration reform Statewide
Source: Queens Daily Eagle, by Noah Powelson
-
Lancaster County jail cases stall as Nebraska's regional center waits grow Statewide
Source: Nebraska Public Media, by Maddie Ames
-
Post and Courier investigation finds South Carolina defendants wait about eight months for competency restoration Statewide
Source: The Post and Courier (Aiken Standard copy), by Glenn Smith, Jocelyn Grzeszczak and Alan Hovorka
-
Virginia audit finds no clear policy for forensic-patient custody transfers Statewide
Source: VPM, by Dean Mirshahi
-
Georgia agrees to fixed deadlines for competency evaluations and hospital admission Statewide
Source: Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
-
Vermont bill would create a prison-based forensic facility for people found unfit for trial or legally insane Statewide
Source: Seven Days, by Colin Flanders
-
Ohio extends maximum competency-restoration commitment to five years Statewide
Source: Cleveland 19 News, by Julia Thyret and Brian Koster
-
Missouri proposes budget expansion for outpatient competency beds amid growing backlog Statewide
Source: Missouri Independent, by Steph Quinn
-
Nevada fined $447,000 over continued competency-system delays
Source: The Nevada Independent, by Eric Neugeboren
-
AP: Vermont is the only state without a locked facility for defendants found incompetent, and lawmakers consider building one Statewide
Source: Associated Press / VTDigger (via Boston.com), by Charlotte Oliver/VTDigger, Associated Press
-
Investigation: Ohio's psychiatric hospitals are now dominated by the criminal justice system Statewide
Source: The Marshall Project, by Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News, and Doug Livingston, The Marshall Project
-
Arizona's competency system often leaves jail as the only treatment defendants get Statewide
Source: AZ Luminaria, by John Washington
-
Advocacy groups sue Missouri over competency evaluation and placement delays Statewide
Source: STLPR, by Rachel Lippmann
-
Oklahoma fined nearly $1 million for missing competency settlement deadlines Statewide
Source: Oklahoma Voice, by Emma Murphy
-
Woman dies in Illinois jail after 67 days awaiting a state hospital bed
Source: Capitol News Illinois, by Illinois Answers Project
-
Seven years after Alabama's consent decree, the waitlist for the state's secure men's psychiatric unit has grown nearly fivefold Statewide
Source: Associated Press (via Yahoo News), by Safiyah Riddle
-
State assessment finds Pennsylvania's competency system 'in crisis' Statewide
Source: Spotlight PA, by Danielle Ohl
-
Massachusetts nurses and SEIU press for separate hospital units as forensic patients fill state psychiatric beds Statewide
Source: WBUR, by Deborah Becker
-
Charlotte light-rail case highlights a capacity-evaluation system averaging 69 days at the state's lone evaluation hospital Statewide
Source: North Carolina Health News, by Rachel Crumpler
-
Report finds Colorado's competency-restoration backlog persists years after settlement Statewide
Source: Common Sense Institute, by Erik Gamm and John Kellner
-
Hawaii's law diverting minor offenders to the state hospital after fitness checks is producing repeat admissions Statewide
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat, by Caitlin Thompson
-
Utah funds jail-based competency restoration unit to cut wait times
Source: Davis Journal, by Becky Ginos
-
Disability Rights California finds jail-based IST program offers little treatment and frequent isolation Statewide
Source: Disability Rights California
-
Nevada pays fines and a judge seeks dismissal as Clark County competency waits pass 90 days
Source: FOX5 Vegas, by Victoria Saha
-
National Center for State Courts issues roadmap for managing competency dockets
Source: National Center for State Courts
- Washington submits latest phase of its court-ordered competency overhaul Statewide
-
Nevada to pay $753,500 in fines after Washoe County judge finds state in contempt over delayed competency treatment Statewide
Source: The Nevada Independent, by Eric Neugeboren
-
Federal judge holds Oregon in contempt, orders daily fines over competency delays Statewide
Source: Jefferson Public Radio, by Amelia Templeton
-
Texas auditor examines jail-based competency restoration program Statewide
Source: Texas State Auditor's Office
-
Washington drops appeal of competency fines as jail waits keep climbing Statewide
Source: Prison Legal News
-
Las Vegas neighbors push back against planned $381 million forensic hospital
Source: FOX5 Vegas, by Jaclyn Schultz
-
Judge calls Maryland's psychiatric bed backlog a constitutional crisis and rejects the health department's plan Statewide
Source: The Baltimore Banner, by Alex Mann
-
North Carolina expands jail-based competency restoration to Wake County Statewide
Source: NCDHHS, by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
-
Maryland's psychiatric waitlist for jailed defendants hits a record as a judge presses the health department Statewide
Source: The Baltimore Banner, by Alex Mann
-
Three North Carolina sheriffs launch jail-based capacity restoration units for defendants too ill for trial Statewide
Source: North Carolina Health News, by Rachel Crumpler
-
North Carolina defendants wait about six months in jail for hospital beds as capacity-to-proceed demand climbs Statewide
Source: North Carolina Health News, by Rachel Crumpler
-
Investigation finds 54 deaths among Texans waiting for a state hospital bed Statewide
Source: KXAN, by David Barer and Josh Hinkle
-
New Mexico launches its first competency-diversion program Statewide
Source: KUNM, by Ted Alcorn, New Mexico In Depth
-
Advocates ask court to hold Oregon in contempt over competency wait times Statewide
Source: Disability Rights Oregon, by Melissa Roy-Hart
-
Georgia's forensic agency publishes a toolkit to help courts cut delays in competency hearings Statewide
Source: Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, by Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, with the Center for Justice Innovation
-
Ohio's state psychiatric hospitals run near capacity as defendants wait in jail, public radio reports Statewide
Source: The Ohio Newsroom (Statehouse News Bureau), by Kendall Crawford
-
Kansas settles Larned State Hospital wait-time lawsuit, commits to new beds
Source: Kansas Reflector, by Anna Kaminski
-
Oklahoma settles class action over restoration-treatment delays Statewide
Source: Oklahoma Attorney General's Office, by Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General
-
Oklahoma mental health commissioner fires attorney general as board rejects competency decree Statewide
Source: FOX 25 (KOKH), Oklahoma City, by Colleen Wilson
-
Mississippi doubles forensic hospital capacity with new 83-bed unit
Source: Mississippi Today, by Gwen Dilworth
-
Federal judge preliminarily approves Oklahoma competency consent decree despite state objections Statewide
Source: KOSU, by Sierra Pfeifer
-
Iowa launches statewide outpatient competency restoration program Statewide
Source: Iowa Public Radio, by Meghan McKinney
-
New Mexico legislators review draft competency statute and outpatient alternatives Statewide
Source: New Mexico Political Report, by Nicole Maxwell
-
Rhode Island Supreme Court rules a defendant on outpatient competency commitment must be discharged within 30 days of being found nonrestorable Statewide
Source: Rhode Island Supreme Court, by Rhode Island Supreme Court (Justice Long, for the Court)
-
Oklahoma attorney general files proposed consent decree in competency restoration class action Statewide
Source: Oklahoma Attorney General's Office
-
Maryland judge fines health department $608,000 over delays moving jailed defendants to psychiatric hospitals
Source: The Baltimore Banner, by Ben Conarck, Meredith Cohn and Dylan Segelbaum
-
Aiken County jail runs competency restoration locally under a recent state law change
Source: Aiken Standard (Post and Courier), by Bianca Moorman
-
Disability Rights NC sues state health department over months-long jail waits for capacity evaluations and treatment Statewide
Source: Carolina Journal, by CJ Staff
-
ACLU sues California over refusal to disclose details of deaths of defendants on the IST waitlist Statewide
Source: Courthouse News Service
-
DeWine forms work group on competency restoration and diversion as forensic patients fill 93 percent of state hospital beds Statewide
Source: Office of Gov. Mike DeWine, by Office of the Governor of Ohio
-
Michigan state report shows waits for forensic hospital beds for incompetent defendants more than quadrupled in a year Statewide
Source: Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
-
Kansas county launches outpatient competency restoration as inmates wait a year or more for Larned or Osawatomie
Source: KCUR, by Dylan Lysen
-
Maine bill would make permanent the option to move violent incompetent defendants from Riverview to prison unit Statewide
Source: Sun Journal, by John Terhune
-
Clark County inmates found incompetent wait more than 100 days in jail for a Stein bed
Source: FOX5 Vegas, by Victoria Saha
-
Nevada's plan for new forensic beds collapses, state scrambles for alternatives
Source: Nevada Current, by Camalot Todd
-
Treatment Advocacy Center report finds Wyoming jail inmates wait the longest for state hospital beds Statewide
Source: WyoFile, by Madelyn Beck
-
Louisiana forensic backlog averages nearly seven months in jail before admission Statewide
Source: The Advocate (Baton Rouge), by Rebecca Holland
- State psychiatric hospital bed counts hit a historic low
-
Alaska Psychiatric Institute doubles restoration capacity with jail-based beds and an outpatient program
Source: Anchorage Daily News, by Tess Williams
-
Evaluator shortage delays competency cases in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley
Source: WHSV, by Colby Johnson
-
Nevada approves $27 million for jail-based competency program and bed capacity Statewide
Source: The Nevada Independent, by Eric Neugeboren
-
Montana Supreme Court overturns a judge's order for a health department report on forensic waitlist Statewide
Source: Montana Free Press, by Mara Silvers
-
Washington pays off $100 million competency fine ahead of schedule Statewide
Source: Washington State Standard, by Grace Deng
-
Hawaii State Hospital is over licensed capacity, with patients housed in conference and therapy rooms Statewide
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat, by Kevin Dayton, Nick Grube
-
Louisiana's forensic waitlist keeps growing, with nearly 200 jailed ahead of hospital admission Statewide
Source: The Advocate (Baton Rouge), by Rebecca Holland
-
Kentucky evaluation backlog reaches 353 as the state psychiatric center operates under half its beds Statewide
Source: 14 News (WFIE, Evansville), by Steve Mehling
-
Oregon State Hospital meets the seven-day admission deadline for the first time in four years Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Rolando Hernandez
-
New Hampshire breaks ground on a 24-bed forensic hospital for defendants found not competent or not guilty by reason of insanity
Source: New Hampshire Public Radio, by Paul Cuno-Booth
-
Nevada Supreme Court upholds $500-a-day fines against state over delayed treatment of incompetent defendants Statewide
Source: The Nevada Independent, by Eric Neugeboren
- 22 Washington counties sue the state over mental-health treatment obligations Statewide
-
Nashville judge opens incompetency docket after dozens of charges dismissed against defendants found incompetent
Source: NewsChannel 5 (WTVF), Nashville, by Ben Hall
-
Competency referrals have roughly doubled in Washington over a decade Statewide
Source: The Spokesman-Review, by Esmy Jimenez, Seattle Times
-
Washington fined $100 million for ongoing competency-system failures Statewide
Source: The Spokesman-Review, by Esmy Jimenez, Seattle Times
-
Judge approves revised Oregon order that narrows admissions and allows extended stays for serious charges Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
-
Colorado further reforms competency evaluation and certification rules Statewide
Source: Colorado General Assembly
-
Researchers document a national 'competency crisis' straining evaluators and hospitals
Source: Behavioral Sciences & the Law, by Daniel C. Murrie, W. Neil Gowensmith, Lauren E. Kois, and Ira K. Packer
-
Washington adds jail-based specialists and new diversion options Statewide
Source: Washington State Governor's Office (Medium), by Governor Jay Inslee
-
San Diego grand jury finds most jailed defendants get no restoration treatment while waiting
Source: San Diego County Grand Jury, by 2022/2023 San Diego County Grand Jury
-
Nevada's plan to put forensic beds in Las Vegas city jail slips by at least 18 months
Source: Nevada Current, by Camalot Todd
-
Vermont House weighs bills on care and oversight for defendants found incompetent, after a Bennington killing Statewide
Source: VTDigger, by Kristen Fountain
-
Half of North Carolina defendants found incapable to proceed waited 313+ days for a hospital bed, WFAE finds Statewide
Source: WFAE (Charlotte), by Dana Miller Ervin
-
Texas psychiatric hospital staffing gaps keep over 2,500 defendants waiting in jail Statewide
Source: The Texas Tribune, by Stephen Simpson
-
Class action filed over Oklahoma defendants waiting up to a year in jail for restoration Statewide
Source: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
-
Pennsylvania's competency system leaves people waiting in jail without treatment Statewide
Source: Spotlight PA, by Danielle Ohl and Brittany Hailer
-
Illinois law lengthens the jail-transfer deadline for defendants found unfit from 20 to 60 days after officials concede the old limit was routinely missed Statewide
Source: NPR Illinois (Capitol News Illinois), by Peter Hancock
-
Texas waitlist for state hospital beds tops 2,500 as lawmakers weigh a deadline Statewide
Source: USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism (originally published by KXAN), by David Barer, CHJ Fellow
- Advocates ask court to hit Washington with $250 million in new fines Statewide
-
Pandemic collided with Oregon's decades-old competency consent order, researchers find Statewide
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, by Thomas E. Hansen and Amela Blekic
-
Texas psychiatric beds go offline for staffing as the forensic waitlist passes 2,500 Statewide
Source: Houston Public Media, by Sara Willa Ernst
-
Louisiana jails hold well over 100 incompetent defendants awaiting state hospital beds Statewide
Source: The Lens, by Nick Chrastil
-
CalMatters traces a man jailed nearly nine years in Sacramento without trial as California's IST waitlist hits 1,446
Source: CalMatters, by Jocelyn Wiener
-
North Carolina opens its first jail-based capacity restoration program in Mecklenburg County
Source: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
-
Virginia legislative commission finds competency restoration is crowding civil patients out of state hospitals Statewide
Source: Virginia Behavioral Health Commission
-
Kentucky psychiatric center has 302 people waiting for court-ordered evaluations, averaging nearly six months Statewide
Source: LEX 18, by Christiana Ford
-
Judge hears objections to Oregon's hospital stay limits but signals he will only refine them Statewide
Source: Oregon Capital Chronicle, by Ben Botkin
-
Pennsylvania Supreme Court lets judges dismiss charges against defendants who will never be competent Statewide
Source: Spotlight PA, by Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PA and Brittany Hailer of the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism
-
New Hampshire's forensic hospital stays on schedule but costs run about $6 million over budget
Source: New Hampshire Bulletin, by Annmarie Timmins
-
Former staff and patients allege abuse in Norristown's forensic unit for defendants found incompetent
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, by Samantha Melamed
-
Nevada approves more than $55 million in federal funds to expand forensic hospital capacity Statewide
Source: KOLO, by Kevin Sheridan
-
National judicial task force calls for competency-process reforms
Source: State Justice Institute
-
Kentucky public defenders say defendants wait up to 18 months for state competency evaluations, often longer than any likely sentence Statewide
Source: WKYT, by Kelsey Souto
-
Kansas inmates wait months for mental health beds as Sedgwick and Finney counties describe jail costs Statewide
Source: Kansas Reflector, by Rachel Mipro
-
Arizona Rule 11 Task Force interim report finds competency evaluations concentrated in superior court and misdemeanor cases dropped without restoration Statewide
Source: Arizona Supreme Court, by Arizona Supreme Court Task Force on Rule 11
-
Missouri mental health officials tell lawmakers 210 jailed people await hospital beds as staffing gaps deepen Statewide
Source: Missouri Independent, by Tessa Weinberg
-
Los Angeles Times documents long jail waits for incompetent defendants as California's wait averages 141 days Statewide
Source: Los Angeles Times, by Kevin Rector
-
Federal judge sets time limits on Oregon State Hospital stays for defendants in competency restoration Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Ben Botkin (The Lund Report)
-
California details $535 million IST solutions plan, including jail stabilization and diversion Statewide
Source: California Department of State Hospitals
-
Alabama mental health department outlines plan to add jail-based and community competency restoration Statewide
Source: Alabama Department of Mental Health, by Virginia Scott-Adams, Psy.D.
-
Reporting finds people released after incompetency dismissals often get no follow-up treatment
Source: KFF Health News, by Katheryn Houghton
-
APA task force report addresses nationwide psychiatric bed shortage
Source: American Psychiatric Association
-
Five more Illinois sheriffs join suit over delayed transfers of inmates found unfit for trial
Source: Illinois Times, by Dean Olsen
-
Dallas editorial urges Texas to stop leaving mentally ill defendants in county jails
Source: Longview News-Journal (syndicated from The Dallas Morning News), by Dallas Morning News
-
Federal court closes Utah competency-wait case after five years of monitoring Statewide
Source: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
-
Illinois judge holds state human services agency in contempt, fines it $100 a day over unfit inmate's wait
Source: Illinois Times, by Dean Olsen
-
Illinois prosecutor asks court to hold state human services agency in contempt over jail transfer delays
Source: Illinois Times, by Dean Olsen
-
Georgia judge holds state in contempt as competency jail backlog grows Statewide
Source: KFF Health News (with Georgia Health News), by Andy Miller and Rebecca Grapevine
-
Court-appointed expert tells Oregon to limit hospital stays and expand community options to meet the seven-day rule Statewide
Source: Oregon Capital Chronicle, by Lynne Terry
-
Colorado overhauls competency process, funds new hospital beds Statewide
Source: Colorado General Assembly
-
ACLU sues Kansas over Larned State Hospital wait times
Source: Kansas Reflector, by Anna Kaminski
-
Colorado passes $54 million bed expansion as competency waits reach nearly 90 days Statewide
Source: Colorado Newsline, by Faith Miller
-
Texas senator and county official call state hospital waits 'horrifying' as the jail waitlist hits 2,309 Statewide
Source: KXAN (Austin), by David Barer, Josh Hinkle
-
Marion County sheriff says jails are a dumping ground as incompetent defendants wait four months for Logansport beds
Source: WRTV (Indianapolis), by WRTV Staff
-
ACLU sues Indiana over competency restoration delays Statewide
Source: ACLU of Indiana
-
With only 39 staffed forensic beds, Mississippi defendants wait up to a year in jail for restoration treatment Statewide
Source: Mississippi Free Press (with Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting), by Julie Whitehead
-
Minnesota creates statewide 'forensic navigator' system for competency cases Statewide
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, by Minnesota Legislature (Office of the Revisor of Statutes)
-
South Carolina law lets the mental health department provide competency restoration in jails and outpatient settings Statewide
Source: South Carolina Legislature Online, by South Carolina General Assembly
-
Nashville task force finds long waits for forensic evaluation and quick re-arrest of incompetent misdemeanor defendants
Source: Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, by Task Force on Competency & Wellbeing, Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County (primary author Dia Cirillo, Office of Mayor John Cooper)
-
Pennsylvania plans a 420-bed forensic hospital at Norristown costing $242 million
Source: MONTCO.Today, by Christine Tarlecki
-
Virginia lets courts divert incompetent misdemeanor defendants to civil evaluation instead of restoration Statewide
Source: Virginia Legislative Information System, by Virginia General Assembly (introduced by Sen. T. Montgomery "Monty" Mason)
-
Nebraska committee advances bill giving incompetent defendants priority at the regional center Statewide
Source: Nebraska Examiner, by Paul Hammel
-
Hawaii's new forensic hospital building is set to open after more than a year of delays
Source: Hawaiʻi Public Radio (Associated Press), by The Associated Press
-
Washington enacts law to speed transfers from outpatient restoration and tighten competency service deadlines Statewide
Source: Washington State Legislature, by Washington State Senate (Office of Senate Bill Reports)
-
Western State Hospital shifts toward forensic patients as its competency waitlist grows
Source: The Seattle Times (via Walla Walla Union-Bulletin), by Esmy Jimenez
-
Utah updates juvenile competency law Statewide
Source: Utah Legislature
-
Montana jails hold people for months awaiting state hospital forensic evaluations and beds Statewide
Source: Montana Free Press (KFF Health News), by Katheryn Houghton, KFF Health News
-
Disability Rights Mississippi sues the mental health department again over records on its forensic unit Statewide
Source: Mississippi Today, by Will Stribling
-
Nebraska inmates wait an average of 128 days for Lincoln Regional Center beds Statewide
Source: Nebraska Examiner, by Paul Hammel
-
Arkansas jails hold well over a hundred people waiting a year or more for state hospital beds Statewide
Source: KTLO
-
Legislative Analyst reviews Newsom's $317 million IST package as felony waitlist tops 1,700 Statewide
Source: California Legislative Analyst's Office
-
New York City's jail system reports 92 people awaited transfer to state custody during January-March 2022 after being found unfit, with waits up to 69 days
Source: New York City Department of Correction
-
Alaska victims' advocates say incompetency findings can end a case with no closure and no commitment
Source: Alaska's News Source (KTUU), by Taylor Burke
-
Kansas House committee hears bill to open new competency evaluation and restoration pathways beyond Larned Statewide
Source: Kansas Legislature, by Kansas House Judiciary Committee
-
Mississippi homicide suspect found incompetent in 2019 is still in jail, as state hospital forensic capacity lags Statewide
Source: Mississippi Today (Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting), by Julie Whitehead
-
Florida House committee backs allowing restoration treatment in county jails as 548 defendants wait for state beds Statewide
Source: The Florida Bar News, by Jim Ash
-
KXAN-led investigation finds at least 12 Texans died in jail awaiting competency treatment Statewide
Source: USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, by David Barer and Josh Hinkle
-
Hawaii's $160 million forensic hospital building sits empty nearly a year after completion
Source: Hawaii News Now, by Allyson Blair
-
Texas hospital staffing emergency looms as a record 2,100 people wait in jail for competency restoration Statewide
Source: KXAN (Austin), by David Barer, Josh Hinkle
-
California suspends state hospital admissions again during Omicron surge Statewide
Source: California Department of State Hospitals
-
Vermont state working group recommends forensic facility and restoration program for defendants found incompetent Statewide
Source: Vermont Department of Mental Health (posted by the Vermont General Assembly), by Vermont Department of Mental Health
-
Jail inmates file federal class action over South Dakota's delays sending them for competency restoration
Source: KFGO, by Paul Jurgens
-
Oregon settles interim deal with advocates, agrees to hire an independent expert on hospital admissions Statewide
Source: Disability Rights Oregon (OHA release), by Oregon Health Authority and Disability Rights Oregon
-
KXAN reports Texas's jail waitlist for competency restoration hit 1,838 and examines a statewide plan to cut it Statewide
Source: KXAN (Austin), by David Barer, Josh Hinkle
-
Federal grant funds jail-based competency restoration program in Bexar County
Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance
-
East Texas man spends two years in jail before and while waiting for competency restoration
Source: Dallas Observer, by Michael Murney
-
Oklahoma senator files bill to allow jail-based restoration when forensic beds are not available Statewide
Source: Oklahoma State Senate
-
UVA study finds misdemeanor defendants crowd Virginia's state hospitals for competency restoration Statewide
Source: Virginia Mercury, by Kate Masters
-
Colorado's Pueblo hospital faces a federal safety deadline as the competency waitlist hits a record
Source: The Gazette (Colorado Springs), by Debbie Kelley
-
State workgroup sets out 2021 plan to shrink California's incompetent-to-stand-trial waitlist Statewide
Source: California Health and Human Services Agency, by California Health and Human Services Agency and California Department of State Hospitals
-
Kansas health agency reports male defendants waited an average of 171 days for Larned competency services Statewide
Source: Kansas Legislature (special committee testimony), Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, by Scott Brunner
-
50-state survey compares competency-restoration approaches nationwide
Source: NRI, by National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute (NRI)
-
New York City evaluation pilot finds most competency exams in Queens finished within target times
Source: NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice
-
Texas's competency restoration waitlist reaches a record 1,813, nearly double the year before Statewide
Source: Dallas Observer, by Michael Murney
-
Bed closures at Colorado's state psychiatric hospital linked to jail suicides
Source: Colorado Public Radio, by Allison Sherry
-
New Hampshire officials outline a 24-bed, $30 million forensic hospital for defendants found incompetent or not guilty by reason of insanity
Source: New Hampshire Bulletin, by Annmarie Timmins
-
Texas judicial and health commissions publish a toolkit to shrink the jail wait for competency restoration beds Statewide
Source: Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health, by Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health and Texas Health and Human Services Commission
-
KUTV investigation explains how Utah finds defendants incompetent and restores them, and how long it can take Statewide
Source: KUTV 2News Investigates (via KJZZ), by MacKenzie Ryan & Wendy Halloran, KUTV
-
Court weighs contempt as Louisiana admits missing forensic admission deadlines Statewide
Source: U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana (via GovInfo), by U.S. District Court, M.D. La.
-
New York counties' association proposes overhaul of competency restoration after state shifts full cost to counties Statewide
Source: New York State Association of Counties
-
California Supreme Court lets 28-day admission deadline for incompetent defendants stand Statewide
Source: Courthouse News Service, by Nicholas Iovino
-
Appeals court sends Oregon's hospital admission deadline dispute back to the district judge Statewide
Source: KTVZ (Associated Press), by Associated Press
-
First national estimate puts competency evaluations at over 60,000 a year
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, by Nathaniel P. Morris, Dale E. McNiel, and Renée L. Binder
-
Texas state hospitals stay full as the competency waitlist hovers near a record 1,500 Statewide
Source: KXAN (Austin), by David Barer
-
Sixteen defendants found guilty except for insanity wait in Oregon jails for hospital beds despite orders Statewide
Source: Street Roots, by Henry Brannan
-
Woman with schizophrenia spends six months in a county jail waiting for an Oklahoma forensic bed Statewide
Source: The Frontier, by Brianna Bailey
-
Washington reports Phase 1 gains in the Trueblood settlement and files its Phase 2 plan for King County Statewide
Source: U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash. (court filing hosted by Disability Rights Washington), by U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash. (filing in Trueblood v. DSHS, No. C14-1178 MJP)
-
California appeals court affirms limits on jail detention for incompetent defendants Statewide
Source: ACLU of Northern California
-
Vermont enacts Act 57 revising competency and insanity procedures and creating a forensic care working group Statewide
Source: Vermont General Assembly
-
Hawaii State Hospital shows off new 144-bed building for court-committed patients
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat, by Anita Hofschneider
-
Oregon State Hospital's pandemic staffing emergency prompts request for National Guard nurses Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
-
Vermont Senate passes bill adding prosecutor notice and reevaluation rights in competency and insanity cases Statewide
Source: Bennington Banner, by Tiffany Tan
-
Ohio governor signs Senate Bill 2, allowing outpatient competency restoration for nonviolent misdemeanor cases Statewide
Source: Ohio Senate (Office of Sen. Theresa Gavarone), by Theresa Gavarone
-
West Virginia enacts competency law with 90-day restoration check and 180/240-day caps Statewide
Source: West Virginia Legislature
-
Kentucky enacts a commitment track for violent defendants who cannot be restored to competency Statewide
Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, by Kentucky General Assembly
-
New Mexico Supreme Court allows longer commitments for defendants found incompetent and dangerous Statewide
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican, by Victoria Traxler
-
Arizona House passes bill to commit defendants who are incompetent, unrestorable and dangerous; fiscal analysts flag large costs Statewide
Source: Arizona State Legislature, by Arizona State Senate Research
-
Federal judge finds Alabama still far out of compliance on competency waits three years after the consent decree Statewide
Source: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse (University of Michigan Law School), by U.S. District Court, M.D. Ala. (Judge Myron H. Thompson)
-
Michigan health department reports the average wait for forensic hospital admission fell from 157 to 137 days in 2020 Statewide
Source: Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
-
Follow-up study of Washington, DC's outpatient competence restoration program covers 345 referrals
Source: Journal of Forensic Science and Research, by Reston N Bell, Phillip J Candilis, Nicole R Johnson
-
Excess days for restored California defendants soar to 3,653 in 2020 as COVID-19 halted transfers Statewide
Source: California Department of State Hospitals
-
Minnesota task force recommends a competency statute, certified forensic navigators and a three-tier restoration system Statewide
Source: Minnesota Department of Human Services, by Minnesota Department of Human Services, Behavioral Health Division and Direct Care and Treatment
-
Ohio Senate bill would send low-level defendants to outpatient competency evaluation and free hospital beds Statewide
Source: Spectrum News 1 Ohio, by Josh Rultenberg
-
South Dakota oversight council says competency evaluation waits fell from months to weeks after 2017 reforms Statewide
Source: South Dakota Oversight Council for Improving Criminal Justice Responses for Persons with Mental Illness, by Oversight Council for Improving Criminal Justice Responses for Persons with Mental Illness
-
COVID-19 outbreak tops 200 cases at Washington's key forensic hospital
Source: OPB, by Martha Bellisle, Associated Press
-
State task force urges planning a replacement for Whiting Forensic Hospital, citing competency patients housed in maximum security
Source: CT Mirror, by Kelan Lyons
-
Louisiana court extends oversight of hospital-admission settlement after pandemic disrupts compliance Statewide
Source: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
-
Oregon State Hospital halts admissions after COVID-19 cases Statewide
Source: OPB, by Conrad Wilson
-
Lawsuit challenges California's refusal to admit COVID-positive competency patients Statewide
Source: CalMatters, by Lee Romney
-
Indiana launches jail-based and community restoration pilots for defendants waiting on state hospital beds Statewide
Source: News and Tribune (New Albany, IN), via TheStatehouseFile.com, by TheStatehouseFile.com
-
National report calls for states to rethink competency evaluation and restoration
Source: CSG Justice Center, by Hallie Fader-Towe and Ethan Kelly
-
Pandemic deepens Washington's jail backlog of defendants found unfit to stand trial Statewide
Source: Crosscut (now Cascade PBS), by David Kroman
-
Connecticut's competency exam referrals climbed nearly 20 percent over four fiscal years while criminal caseloads shrank Statewide
Source: CT Mirror, by Kelan Lyons
-
Kentucky health department briefing puts forensic evaluation wait at six to eight weeks, with restoration unfunded Statewide
Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (Jail and Corrections Reform Task Force), by Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities
-
Illinois opens $1 million grant round for outpatient restoration of defendants found unfit Statewide
Source: Illinois Department of Human Services, by Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health
-
Alaska appeals court says nearly a year in jail awaiting competency treatment was unconstitutional and orders dismissal Statewide
Source: Anchorage Daily News, by James Brooks
-
KXAN 'Locked in Limbo' finds Texas's $1 billion hospital rebuild would still leave the competency waitlist 555 beds short Statewide
Source: KXAN (Austin), by David Barer
-
COVID-19 leaves few safe options for defendants found incompetent to stand trial
Source: The Marshall Project, by Christie Thompson
-
Federal judge temporarily loosens Oregon's seven-day hospital admission rule during the pandemic Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
-
Pandemic shutters jail transfers to Western State Hospital, and a federal judge orders them to resume Statewide
Source: Crosscut (now Cascade PBS), by David Kroman
-
Pandemic admission limits push Colorado toward millions more in competency fines Statewide
Source: The Gazette (Colorado Springs), by Lance Benzel
-
New York City's jail system counts 123 people awaiting state transfer after being found unfit during early 2020, with some waiting two months
Source: New York City Department of Correction
-
Oregon State Hospital halts most admissions during COVID-19, leaving defendants in county jails Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
-
Appeals court upholds $370,000 in sanctions on state hospital department for slow admission of incompetent defendants
Source: Metropolitan News-Enterprise, by MetNews Staff Writer
-
Psychiatrist argues a full continuum of restoration services makes jail-based restoration unnecessary
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, by Reena Kapoor
-
Kentucky senators file a bill to create an involuntary-commitment track for violent defendants found incompetent and unlikely to be restored Statewide
Source: Kentucky General Assembly (Legislative Research Commission), by Kentucky Legislative Research Commission
-
Chippewa County sheriff's public appeal exposes months-long waits for state psychiatric placement in Michigan Statewide
Source: Bridge Michigan, by Ted Roelofs
-
Commentary compares state approaches for defendants who are incompetent, unrestorable and deemed dangerous
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, by Joseph D. Bloom and Scott E. Kirkorsky
-
Legislative Analyst: California's IST waitlist leveled off near 800 after years of growth, but referrals keep rising Statewide
Source: California Legislative Analyst's Office
-
Alabama governor's budget proposes 96 more forensic beds at Taylor Hardin to meet Hunter consent-decree deadlines Statewide
Source: BirminghamWatch (Alabama Daily News), by Mary Sell
-
Hawaii lawmakers weigh bills to divert people with mental illness from jail and speed fitness evaluations Statewide
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat, by Brittany Lyte
-
Arizona publishes statewide best-practices guide for competency restoration programs Statewide
Source: Arizona Supreme Court, by Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Mental Health and the Justice System
-
Minnesota task force's interim report finds incompetent defendants in state facilities have more than doubled since 2013 Statewide
Source: Minnesota Department of Human Services, by Minnesota Department of Human Services, Behavioral Health Division and Direct Care and Treatment
-
Reporting finds Colorado still under fines and short of competency beds a year after consent decree Statewide
Source: Rocky Mountain PBS, by John Ferrugia
-
Michigan House bills would rewrite competency-to-stand-trial procedures and let counties use outside examiners when the state center falls behind Statewide
Source: Michigan House Fiscal Agency
-
Klamath County builds a local alternative as Oregon's SB 24 restricts state hospital referrals
Source: KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2, by Newsroom Staff
-
Study finds rising numbers of incompetent defendants being routed into long-term hospital care
Source: CNS Spectrums (Cambridge University Press), by Katherine Warburton, Barbara E. McDermott, Anthony Gale, and Stephen M. Stahl
-
Ohio mental health department reports jail-transfer admissions to state hospitals more than doubled in three years Statewide
Source: Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
-
Georgia forensic director tells the behavioral health board that forensic waitlists keep growing Statewide
Source: Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, by Karen Bailey, Ph.D., Director, Office of Forensic Services, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
-
Reporting finds Oregon's 2019 aid-and-assist law is leaving some misdemeanor defendants without inpatient care Statewide
Source: NPR (reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting), by Conrad Wilson
-
Federal judge closes Oregon hospital-delay case after state returns to compliance Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
-
Ohio fiscal analysis: bill would bar inpatient competency evaluations at state hospitals for nonviolent misdemeanor defendants and fund limited guardians Statewide
Source: Ohio Legislative Service Commission
-
Detroit News traces Michigan's psychiatric bed shortage through a jailed teen found incompetent in a killing Statewide
Source: The Detroit News, by Karen Bouffard
-
Arizona court committee proposes standardized Rule 11 evaluator guidelines and a fix for dangerous, unrestorable defendants Statewide
Source: Arizona Supreme Court (Arizona Judicial Council), by Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Mental Health and the Justice System
-
Mississippi expands forensic capacity and plans an 83-bed unit after years of jail waits Statewide
Source: Mississippi Today, by Larrison Campbell
-
Minnesota convenes a statewide task force on community competency restoration under a 2019 law Statewide
Source: Minnesota Department of Human Services
-
Prison Legal News tallies state and federal contempt fights over Oregon's jailed aid-and-assist defendants Statewide
Source: Prison Legal News, by Mark Wilson
-
After Dayton shooting, Ohio governor floats shifting low-level defendants out of state psychiatric hospitals Statewide
Source: The Appeal, by Kira Lerner
-
Idaho hospitals urge fast trial dates for restored defendants, who can slip back into incompetence while waiting in jail Statewide
Source: Idaho Press, by Tommy Simmons
-
Alabama misses nearly all evaluation and admission deadlines 16 months into its competency consent decree Statewide
Source: Alabama Political Reporter, by Eddie Burkhalter
-
Washington's court-approved plan for phase one of the Trueblood settlement sets hiring, bed and diversion targets Statewide
Source: U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash. (court filing hosted by Disability Rights Washington), by U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash. (filing in Trueblood v. DSHS, No. C14-1178 MJP)
-
Study of 50 states' forensic directors documents 76 percent growth in forensic hospital patients
Source: CNS Spectrums, by Amanda Wik, Vera Hollen, William H. Fisher
-
Judge stops short of contempt for Oregon over hospital delays and sets a 90-day check-in Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
-
Wisconsin Supreme Court limits forced medication to restore trial competency Statewide
Source: Wisconsin Supreme Court, by Wisconsin Supreme Court (opinion by Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley)
-
Oregon advocates ask a federal judge to force hospital admissions for jailed defendants Statewide
Source: Northwest Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
-
Marshall Project and Frontline show Pennsylvania's competency wait as a window on a national problem
Source: The Marshall Project (with PBS Frontline), by Christie Thompson, Leila Miller, and Manuel Villa
-
New York City's jail system reports 145 people awaited transfer to state custody after being found unfit during the April-June 2019 quarter
Source: New York City Department of Correction
-
Washington creates 'forensic navigator' role to speed competency cases Statewide
Source: Disability Rights Washington
-
Study documents Arizona's shift from hospital to jail-based competency restoration Statewide
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, by Joseph D. Bloom and Scott E. Kirkorsky
-
Wisconsin budget analysts detail a growing forensic admission waitlist as the state weighs a new Sand Ridge unit Statewide
Source: Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau, by Jon Dyck, Legislative Fiscal Bureau
-
Georgia advocates sue Fulton County over women's jail confinement, citing exclusion from competency restoration and long hospital waits
Source: U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga. (complaint as hosted by Courthouse News Service), by Georgia Advocacy Office and Southern Center for Human Rights (plaintiffs' counsel)
-
Alaska Mental Health Trust provides $150,000 to clear backlog of jailed defendants awaiting competency evaluations Statewide
Source: Anchorage Daily News, by Michelle Theriault Boots
-
Alameda County judge orders California to admit incompetent defendants within 28 days Statewide
Source: ACLU of Northern California
-
Colorado settles years-long lawsuit over competency evaluation delays Statewide
Source: Disability Law Colorado
-
Louisiana asks for $348 million to replace its 170-year-old state hospital, where nearly all patients arrive through the courts
Source: NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The Advocate, by Katherine Sayre
-
Alaska's competency system hits a breaking point as jailed defendants wait months for evaluations and beds Statewide
Source: Anchorage Daily News, by Michelle Theriault Boots
-
Arkansas overhauls how courts get mental evaluations of criminal defendants Statewide
Source: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
-
ABA Journal feature examines how routine forced medication has become in competency restoration
Source: ABA Journal, by Lee Nacozy
-
Literature review weighs hospital, jail and outpatient settings for restoring competency
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, by Graham S. Danzer, Elizabeth M.A. Wheeler, Apryl A. Alexander and Tobias D. Wasser
-
CalMatters finds California's incompetent-to-stand-trial referrals up 60 percent in five years Statewide
Source: CalMatters, by Jocelyn Wiener
-
Excess days for restored California defendants jump to 535 in 2018, mostly in Los Angeles County Statewide
Source: California Department of State Hospitals
-
Three years after Pennsylvania's ACLU settlement, waits for forensic beds are shorter but still far above the seven-day standard Statewide
Source: WHYY, by Brett Sholtis
-
Family of Virginia jail detainee who died awaiting a hospital bed receives $3 million settlement
Source: WTKR (News 3), Norfolk, by Web Staff
-
Pennsylvania human services department issues statewide procedures for competency evaluation and restoration Statewide
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, by Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
-
Utah State Hospital reports forensic admission wait down to 11 days, citing settlement-driven changes Statewide
Source: Utah Legislature (interim committee materials), by Utah State Hospital and Utah Department of Human Services
-
Attorney seeks contempt against Maine health department after mentally ill defendant waits weeks in jail; judge declines
Source: Portland Press Herald, by Megan Gray
-
Idaho's state hospitals see patient numbers climb more than 250 percent in five years, driven by court-committed defendants Statewide
Source: Idaho State Journal (Idaho Press), by Tommy Simmons
-
Federal judge approves settlement over Washington's competency delays Statewide
Source: DSHS (Washington State Department of Social and Health Services), by Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
-
Washington's mental-health jail-wait fines reach $83 million before settlement Statewide
Source: The Seattle Times, by Martha Bellisle, The Associated Press
-
NASMHPD research arm catalogs jail-based competency restoration programs and their results
Source: NRI (NASMHPD Research Institute), by Amanda Wik
-
NASMHPD research arm reviews community-based outpatient competency restoration programs across the states
Source: NRI (NASMHPD Research Institute), by Amanda Wik
-
New York City launches a Queens pilot to speed 730 fitness-to-stand-trial evaluations
Source: NYC Health + Hospitals
-
Colorado officials face repeated contempt threats as the competency waitlist balloons Statewide
Source: Colorado Public Radio, by Allison Sherry
-
New Hampshire weighs a 100-bed forensic psychiatric hospital to replace the prison's Secure Psychiatric Unit
Source: InDepthNH.org, by Nancy West
-
Relatives of Mississippi man jailed 11 years after being found incompetent file $11 million federal suit
Source: WREG (Memphis)
-
Journal commentary argues jail-based restoration and forced medication are poor substitutes for timely hospital care
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, by Alan R. Felthous and Joseph D. Bloom
-
Allegheny County plans an in-jail restoration program because state hospital waits are too long
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Shelly Bradbury
-
Texas health agency deck shows forensic patients taking a growing share of state hospital beds and a 296-day average from arrest to admission Statewide
Source: Texas Judicial Branch, by Mike Maples, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
-
Utah forensic waitlist falls to 15 as hospital admissions rise after settlement Statewide
Source: KSL.com, by Wendy Leonard
-
Western State Hospital loses federal certification, and the state's forensic role comes into focus
Source: Northwest News Network, by Austin Jenkins
-
Disability Law Colorado asks court to force the state to meet competency deadlines Statewide
Source: The Gazette (Colorado Springs), by Jakob Rodgers
-
Florida woman ordered to a state mental facility sat 14 months in a Polk County jail after the order was never carried out
Source: WFLA (Tampa)
-
San Antonio editorial: Texas's forensic waiting list of 675 defendants outpaces planned hospital expansion
Source: San Antonio Express-News, by Express-News Editorial Board
-
Maryland law sets a 10-business-day deadline for hospital admission of incompetent defendants and lets courts sanction the state Statewide
Source: Maryland General Assembly
-
Utah State Hospital cuts forensic wait to 60 days, meeting first settlement target Statewide
Source: Deseret News, by McKenzie Romero
-
North Carolina health department recommends ending local evaluators and piloting jail-based capacity restoration Statewide
Source: North Carolina General Assembly (report to Joint Legislative Oversight Committees), by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
-
Nebraska senator opens legislative study on missing mental health treatment for people in the criminal justice system Statewide
Source: Nebraska Legislature
-
Minnesota health department memo shows jail-priority admissions under the 48-hour law jumped fivefold in four years Statewide
Source: Minnesota Department of Human Services (memo to Senate Human Services Reform Finance and Policy Committee), by Dan Kitzberger, Legislative Director, Direct Care and Treatment, Minnesota Department of Human Services
-
Michigan House votes for 45-day limits on competency exams; advocacy group cites an average six-month wait Statewide
Source: Safe & Just Michigan, by Kate McCracken
-
Utah's state hospital forensic unit runs full as lawmakers weigh adding beds Statewide
Source: KUER 90.1, by Whittney Evans
-
D.C. Auditor review finds forensic services strained by hospital waitlists, court-ordered appearances and thin staffing Statewide
Source: Office of the D.C. Auditor, by Office of the District of Columbia Auditor (with the Council for Court Excellence)
-
Michigan House Fiscal Agency analyzes bills to cap competency exam delays at the state forensic center Statewide
Source: Michigan House Fiscal Agency
-
Brown budget sets $117 million for California incompetent-defendant treatment as the population grows by a third Statewide
Source: Los Angeles Times, by Jazmine Ulloa
-
Auditor's follow-up: Minnesota still jails incompetent defendants while hospitals run below capacity Statewide
Source: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, by Office of the Legislative Auditor, State of Minnesota
-
Hawaii awards $140 million contract for 144-bed forensic psychiatric building at the State Hospital
Source: Hawaii Department of Health
-
Alabama agrees to 30-day cap on competency wait times in federal consent decree Statewide
Source: ACLU of Alabama
-
Demand for competency orders jumps again as Colorado misses its 28-day deadline Statewide
Source: The Denver Post (republished by Corrections1), by Jennifer Brown
-
ProPublica traces a Mississippi teenager's nearly four-year jail wait for a psychiatric evaluation and finds 102 others waiting Statewide
Source: ProPublica, by Sarah Smith
-
Court commitments to Hawaii State Hospital have more than tripled since 1997, most tied to fitness to proceed Statewide
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat, by Rui Kaneya
-
Pennsylvania misses a second settlement deadline for forensic beds as Norristown residents push back and waits approach 14 months
Source: WHYY, by Laura Benshoff
-
Michigan has 110 defendants waiting for competency treatment as a state facility runs short of space, newspaper investigation finds Statewide
Source: WNMU-FM (Associated Press), by Associated Press
-
Arkansas State Hospital is full and understaffed while 79 Pulaski County inmates wait on forensic evaluations
Source: KARK (Little Rock)
-
Hawaii State Hospital, built for civil patients, now mostly serves defendants committed by courts, nearly 70 percent over fitness
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat, by Rui Kaneya
-
Michigan lawmakers propose 45-day cap on competency examinations Statewide
Source: Michigan Legislature, by Michigan House of Representatives
-
Fox San Antonio investigation finds incompetent Bexar County inmates waiting months or years for state hospital beds
Source: Fox San Antonio (KABB), by Yami Virgin, Fox San Antonio
-
Maryland forensic services director resigns after contempt ruling over hospital bed shortage Statewide
Source: The Baltimore Sun, by Michael Dresser
-
Judge finds Washington in contempt again, this time over slow in-jail competency evaluations Statewide
Source: The Spokesman-Review (Associated Press), by Martha Bellisle (Associated Press)
-
Houston Chronicle: Texas jail waits for state hospital beds balloon despite $300 million in new funding
Source: Houston Chronicle, by Keri Blakinger
-
Study of admission screening at a state hospital finds value in checking response style among patients committed as incompetent to stand trial
Source: International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, by Barbara E. McDermott, William J. Newman, Jonathan Meyer, Charles L. Scott, Katherine Warburton
-
Baltimore judge holds Maryland health officials in contempt and orders new hospital beds by year-end Statewide
Source: The Baltimore Sun, by Pamela Wood
-
Maryland's high court says unreasonable delay in hospital transfers can violate incompetent defendants' due process rights Statewide
Source: Maryland Judiciary, by Court of Appeals of Maryland (opinion by Judge McDonald)
-
Lincoln Journal Star reports nine mentally ill defendants in Lancaster County jail awaiting regional center beds
Source: Lincoln Journal Star, by Nancy Hicks
-
Mississippi's forensic unit has 35 beds and a nine-to-eleven-month wait, leaving mentally ill defendants in jail
Source: Jackson Free Press, by Arielle Dreher
-
Illinois law sets 20-day deadline for state to place jail inmates found unfit for trial Statewide
Source: Cook County Sheriff's Office
-
NASMHPD assessment finds forensic patients in state hospitals up 76 percent, driven by incompetency cases
Source: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), by Amanda Wik, M.A.; Vera Hollen, M.A.; William H. Fisher, Ph.D.
-
Judge approves Utah settlement setting wait-time limits for competency treatment Statewide
Source: KSL.com, by McKenzie Romero
-
Utah settles lawsuit over competency-treatment wait times Statewide
Source: Prison Legal News, by Derek Gilna
-
Inmate dies in San Luis Obispo jail while waiting for a bed; local reporting shows long jail waits for incompetent defendants
Source: Santa Maria Sun, by Chris McGuinness
-
Texas inmates wait longer for state hospital treatment even after a funding increase, AP reports Statewide
Source: Houston Public Media (AP), by Associated Press
-
Deseret News investigation finds Utah jails holding mentally ill defendants for months awaiting treatment Statewide
Source: Deseret News, by Daphne Chen and McKenzie Romero
-
ACLU moves to reopen Pennsylvania's competency-treatment settlement, saying more than 260 defendants are stuck in jails Statewide
Source: WHYY
-
ACLU tells federal court Pennsylvania's jail waits for competency beds have not improved a year after settlement Statewide
Source: ACLU of Pennsylvania (court filing), by ACLU of Pennsylvania (counsel for plaintiffs, J.H. v. Dallas, M.D. Pa.)
-
Texas Senate staff analysis: bill would steer misdemeanor defendants away from state hospital restoration to cut jail waits Statewide
Source: Texas Legislature Online, by Texas Senate Research Center
-
Inmates found incapable to proceed occupy most men's beds at western North Carolina's Broughton Hospital
Source: WLOS (Asheville), by Kimberly King
-
Legislative Analyst warns California's IST waitlist has grown to 601 and weighs Kern County jail treatment proposal Statewide
Source: California Legislative Analyst's Office
-
Judge says Washington's mental-health jail waits have gotten worse, not better Statewide
Source: The Seattle Times, by Martha Bellisle, The Associated Press
-
Arkansas bill would split fitness and criminal-responsibility exams to cut jail time awaiting State Hospital evaluations Statewide
Source: Arkansas Times, by Leslie Newell Peacock
-
South Carolina bill would make the mental health department reimburse counties for jailing people found unfit to stand trial Statewide
Source: South Carolina Legislature Online, by South Carolina General Assembly
-
Treatment Advocacy Center models how small policy changes could shorten waits for forensic beds
Source: Treatment Advocacy Center
-
South Carolina Supreme Court rules courts cannot commit an incompetent, unrestorable defendant to a disability-services facility Statewide
Source: Prison Legal News, by Lonnie Burton
-
Pulaski County inmate ordered to the Arkansas State Hospital waits weeks as evaluation backlog grows
Source: KARK (Little Rock)
-
Illinois jails hold defendants found unfit for trial while state hospitals report no open beds
Source: WTTW News, by Paris Schutz
-
Three Alabama men found incompetent to stand trial sue the state over months-long waits for treatment in county jails Statewide
Source: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse (University of Michigan Law School), by Plaintiffs in Hunter v. Beshear (U.S. District Court, M.D. Ala.)
-
Texas jails hold a record number of accused violent offenders waiting for maximum-security hospital beds
Source: The Dallas Morning News, by Terri Langford, Naomi Martin
-
Louisiana agrees to end long wait for psychiatric hospital transfers Statewide
Source: The Advocate (Baton Rouge), by Joe Gyan Jr.
-
Wyoming health department proposes statute changes to speed court-ordered competency and sanity evaluations Statewide
Source: Wyoming Legislature (interim committee materials), by Wyoming Department of Health, Director's Unit for Policy, Research, and Evaluation
-
Mississippi budget cuts threaten more jail time for mentally ill as 144 people wait about 11 months for 35 forensic beds Statewide
Source: Mississippi Today, by R.L. Nave and Patsy R. Brumfield
-
Colorado settles with Disability Law Colorado, agreeing to an outside consultant on competency delays Statewide
Source: The Gazette (Colorado Springs), by Jakob Rodgers
-
American Bar Association issues revised criminal justice mental health standards, including a competence-to-proceed section
Source: American Bar Association
-
Federal judge refuses to dismiss suit over jail waits for Louisiana defendants found incompetent Statewide
Source: U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana (via GovInfo), by U.S. District Court, M.D. La.
-
Washington held in contempt over jail 'waiting rooms' for mental health Statewide
Source: Nonprofit Quarterly, by Ruth McCambridge
-
National report finds psychiatric bed shortage continuing nationwide
Source: Treatment Advocacy Center, by Doris A. Fuller, Elizabeth Sinclair, Jeffrey Geller, Cameron Quanbeck, and John Snook
-
Mississippi man jailed nearly 11 years without trial after being found incompetent is approved for transfer to a state hospital
Source: Mississippi Free Press (AP, originally Jackson Free Press), by Associated Press
-
Maryland psychiatric hospitals are full, leaving dozens of court-ordered defendants stuck in jail Statewide
Source: The Baltimore Sun, by Michael Dresser
-
Colorado passes law on where competency evaluations are performed Statewide
Source: Colorado General Assembly
-
Virginia inspector general's review of an inmate's death flags missing records and a lost hospital transfer order
Source: Associated Press (via KSL.com), by Associated Press
-
Houston misdemeanor defendants wait in jail for mental hospital transfer as forensic beds crowd out civil care
Source: Houston Press, by Meagan Flynn
-
Federal judge refuses to dismiss Utah competency-wait lawsuit Statewide
Source: Justia (court opinion), by U.S. District Court, D. Utah
-
Minnesota legislative auditor finds most defendants found incompetent stay in jail awaiting treatment Statewide
Source: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, by Office of the Legislative Auditor, Program Evaluation Division (project manager Joel Alter)
-
North Carolina proposes certification and annual training for community forensic evaluators Statewide
Source: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of MH/DD/SAS
-
Colorado's Pueblo hospital says its competency backlog is cleared after emergency spending
Source: The Gazette (Colorado Springs), by Jakob Rodgers
-
Federal judge gives Washington until May to fix competency waits, saying class members were treated like boxes on a shelf Statewide
Source: The Spokesman-Review, by Rachel Alexander
-
LePage administration revives plan to move dangerous forensic patients from Riverview to the state prison Statewide
Source: Portland Press Herald, by Kevin Miller
-
Pennsylvania settles ACLU competency-wait suit, agreeing to add treatment capacity Statewide
Source: CBS Philadelphia
-
Florida spends at least $50 million a year restoring competency for defendants, mostly on minor charges, investigation finds Statewide
Source: Tampa Bay Times and Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Michael Braga, Anthony Cormier and Leonora LaPeter Anton
-
Florida lawmakers say fixing mental-hospital violence will take money, and a DCF official ties the rise in forensic admissions to missing community services Statewide
Source: Tampa Bay Times, by Michael Auslen
-
Nevada opens Stein forensic unit in Las Vegas to treat jailed defendants found incompetent
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal, by Yesenia Amaro
-
Death of a jailed man awaiting a hospital bed puts Virginia's forensic waits in focus
Source: The Virginian-Pilot, by Gary Harki
-
Advocacy groups file new federal suit saying Louisiana again leaves incompetent defendants waiting in parish jails Statewide
Source: The Advocate (Baton Rouge), by Joe Gyan Jr.
-
Federal judge orders Nevada to treat jailed incompetent defendants within seven days
Source: KSL.com (Associated Press), by Associated Press
-
Times and Herald-Tribune investigation finds violence doubled in Florida's state mental hospitals after $100 million in cuts Statewide
Source: Tampa Bay Times and Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Leonora LaPeter Anton, Michael Braga and Anthony Cormier
-
ACLU sues Pennsylvania over months-long jail waits for court-ordered competency treatment Statewide
Source: WHYY, by Bobby Allyn
-
Hundreds of incompetent California defendants wait in county jails as state hospital beds run short Statewide
Source: KQED, by Scott Shafer
-
South Carolina audit finds the state hospital agency has too little time to restore defendants to competency Statewide
Source: South Carolina Legislative Audit Council
-
Hawaii health officials propose doubling State Hospital capacity, citing a flow of court-ordered forensic admissions
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat, by Nathan Eagle
-
Disability Law Center sues Utah over jail waits for competency treatment Statewide
Source: The Salt Lake Tribune, by Tom Harvey
-
Advocates say Colorado is breaching its 2012 deal on speedy competency evaluations Statewide
Source: CBS Colorado (Associated Press), by Dan Elliott
-
Las Vegas Justice Court says it lacks authority to dismiss cases of mentally ill detainees waiting for treatment
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal, by Yesenia Amaro
-
ACLU files suit over California jail waits for defendants found incompetent to stand trial Statewide
Source: ACLU of Northern California
-
Hennepin County data show about half of defendants found incompetent fall into a gap between criminal and civil commitment courts
Source: MinnPost, by Andy Mannix
-
Clark County public defenders seek dismissals as mentally ill inmates wait 90 to 150 days for treatment
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal, by Yesenia Amaro
-
Study describes Washington, DC's court-linked outpatient competence restoration program and its first outcomes
Source: World Journal of Psychiatry, by Nicole R Johnson and Philip J Candilis
-
Maine health commissioner summoned to contempt hearing over delayed hospital beds for defendants found incompetent
Source: Portland Press Herald, by Scott Dolan
-
Federal court rules Washington's competency delays unconstitutional Statewide
Source: Prison Legal News, by Mark Wilson
-
Oklahoma's forensic hospital is full as judges press the state over inmates awaiting competency treatment
Source: Oklahoma Watch
-
Spokane judge fines Eastern State Hospital for slow competency evaluations as jail waits stretch past a month
Source: The Spokesman-Review, by Rachel Alexander
-
State judges begin fining Washington over jail mental-health waits Statewide
Source: HeraldNet, by Martha Bellisle, Associated Press