Washington drops appeal of competency fines as jail waits keep climbing
Washington withdrew its Ninth Circuit appeal of the Trueblood contempt and fine rulings in April 2025, effectively ending that phase of the case's appellate litigation. The move came even as the underlying numbers kept worsening: jail detainees awaiting competency evaluation rose roughly 300 percent between 2013 and 2022, from 2,064 to 6,199, and one defendant was reported to have waited 681 days for hospital admission.
More than a decade after the original 2015 injunction, the case remained active, with the state now focused on implementation rather than appeal — a shift reflected in the Phase 4 planning document it filed with the court monitor that same year.
Source: Washington’s Continuing Competency Crisis Strains Jails — Prison Legal News
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