Arkansas overhauls how courts get mental evaluations of criminal defendants
State officials announced a new way of handling forensic mental evaluations for defendants whose fitness to stand trial is in question, to take effect March 15, 2019. The Arkansas Department of Human Services, which arranges these evaluations, said judges order about 2,000 a year, and that state law calls for a report within two months, a deadline the agency rarely meets. Because a criminal case cannot move forward until the question is settled, the Democrat-Gazette reported, delays routinely add months to a case.
Most evaluations, about 83 percent, are done on an outpatient basis by psychiatrists or psychologists contracted through the state's community mental health centers. Under the plan, the per-exam fee rises from $500 to $750, with an extra $500 for each court appearance, and examiners who file late face a $250 penalty. The changes are expected to add about $1 million to the department's budget, and the agency also described goals of connecting defendants with treatment and communicating better with courts and lawyers.
The story is an early, official acknowledgment that Arkansas's evaluation pipeline was running behind its statutory timeline, and it shows the state using pay and penalties to address an evaluator-capacity problem.
Source: State announces new mental evaluation plan — Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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