Las Vegas Justice Court says it lacks authority to dismiss cases of mentally ill detainees waiting for treatment
In August 2015 Chief Judge Joe Bonaventure of Las Vegas Justice Court ruled that his court has no authority to hear motions to dismiss charges against mentally ill detainees who were waiting for psychiatric treatment. The decision affected 24 cases of defendants found incompetent.
The district court had declared the defendants incompetent and returned their cases to Justice Court, but Bonaventure concluded the district court must keep jurisdiction until the defendants are treated at Lake's Crossing Center in Sparks. The public defender said the ruling left the defendants with no legal outlet. They had been in the county jail for 90 to 150 days against a 14-day placement requirement that was due to tighten to seven days on September 1.
The dispute shows how the treatment backlog created procedural traps for defendants, in addition to the delay itself.
Source: Justice Court chief hampered by lack of jurisdiction in competency cases — Las Vegas Review-Journal, by Yesenia Amaro
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