Oregon advocates ask a federal judge to force hospital admissions for jailed defendants
The two groups sued the Oregon Health Authority in federal court in Portland, where Judge Michael Mosman heard arguments on their request for mandatory transfers or releases. They said roughly 40 people found unable to assist in their own defense were waiting in county jails instead of receiving treatment, even though the Mink litigation of 2002 set a seven-day limit.
Northwest Public Broadcasting, in a report by Conrad Wilson, described one defendant arrested on felony burglary charges in December who spent January and February in custody and was not admitted until late May. The Washington County sheriff backed the suit. OHA director Patrick Allen acknowledged the delays, pointing to referrals that kept accelerating and noting that about 60 percent of those referred had been homeless when arrested.
The case put a direct test to whether Oregon's state hospital could honor a long-standing federal mandate as aid-and-assist referrals climbed.
Source: Federal Judge To Hear Arguments Over Admission Delays At Oregon State Psychiatric Hospital — Northwest Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
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