Litigation
Lawsuits, court orders, consent decrees.
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Court ends monitoring in Stiavetti case after finding California in substantial compliance Statewide
Source: ACLU of Northern California
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Lawsuit says Florida leaves mentally ill defendants in jail for months past legal limit Statewide
Source: WLRN, by Sharmila Venkatasubban | The Florida Trib
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Judge rejects Texas's request to pause competency wait-time order
Source: Texas Public Radio, by Diego Medel | San Antonio Report
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Texas appeals ruling requiring faster hospital admission for incompetent defendants Statewide
Source: The Texas Tribune, by Katlyn Ma and Alex Nguyen
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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)
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Federal court rules Texas's competency wait times unconstitutional, orders 21-day cap Statewide
Source: Disability Rights Texas
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Georgia agrees to fixed deadlines for competency evaluations and hospital admission Statewide
Source: Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
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Nevada fined $447,000 over continued competency-system delays
Source: The Nevada Independent, by Eric Neugeboren
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Advocacy groups sue Missouri over competency evaluation and placement delays Statewide
Source: STLPR, by Rachel Lippmann
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Oklahoma fined nearly $1 million for missing competency settlement deadlines Statewide
Source: Oklahoma Voice, by Emma Murphy
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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
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Nevada pays fines and a judge seeks dismissal as Clark County competency waits pass 90 days
Source: FOX5 Vegas, by Victoria Saha
- Washington submits latest phase of its court-ordered competency overhaul Statewide
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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
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Federal judge holds Oregon in contempt, orders daily fines over competency delays Statewide
Source: Jefferson Public Radio, by Amelia Templeton
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Washington drops appeal of competency fines as jail waits keep climbing Statewide
Source: Prison Legal News
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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
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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
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Advocates ask court to hold Oregon in contempt over competency wait times Statewide
Source: Disability Rights Oregon, by Melissa Roy-Hart
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Kansas settles Larned State Hospital wait-time lawsuit, commits to new beds
Source: Kansas Reflector, by Anna Kaminski
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Oklahoma settles class action over restoration-treatment delays Statewide
Source: Oklahoma Attorney General's Office, by Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General
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Oklahoma mental health commissioner fires attorney general as board rejects competency decree Statewide
Source: FOX 25 (KOKH), Oklahoma City, by Colleen Wilson
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Federal judge preliminarily approves Oklahoma competency consent decree despite state objections Statewide
Source: KOSU, by Sierra Pfeifer
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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)
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Oklahoma attorney general files proposed consent decree in competency restoration class action Statewide
Source: Oklahoma Attorney General's Office
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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
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Disability Rights NC sues state health department over months-long jail waits for capacity evaluations and treatment Statewide
Source: Carolina Journal, by CJ Staff
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ACLU sues California over refusal to disclose details of deaths of defendants on the IST waitlist Statewide
Source: Courthouse News Service
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Montana Supreme Court overturns a judge's order for a health department report on forensic waitlist Statewide
Source: Montana Free Press, by Mara Silvers
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Washington pays off $100 million competency fine ahead of schedule Statewide
Source: Washington State Standard, by Grace Deng
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Louisiana's forensic waitlist keeps growing, with nearly 200 jailed ahead of hospital admission Statewide
Source: The Advocate (Baton Rouge), by Rebecca Holland
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Oregon State Hospital meets the seven-day admission deadline for the first time in four years Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Rolando Hernandez
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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
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Washington fined $100 million for ongoing competency-system failures Statewide
Source: The Spokesman-Review, by Esmy Jimenez, Seattle Times
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Judge approves revised Oregon order that narrows admissions and allows extended stays for serious charges Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
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Class action filed over Oklahoma defendants waiting up to a year in jail for restoration Statewide
Source: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
- Advocates ask court to hit Washington with $250 million in new fines Statewide
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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
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Louisiana jails hold well over 100 incompetent defendants awaiting state hospital beds Statewide
Source: The Lens, by Nick Chrastil
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Judge hears objections to Oregon's hospital stay limits but signals he will only refine them Statewide
Source: Oregon Capital Chronicle, by Ben Botkin
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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
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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
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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)
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Five more Illinois sheriffs join suit over delayed transfers of inmates found unfit for trial
Source: Illinois Times, by Dean Olsen
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Federal court closes Utah competency-wait case after five years of monitoring Statewide
Source: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
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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
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Illinois prosecutor asks court to hold state human services agency in contempt over jail transfer delays
Source: Illinois Times, by Dean Olsen
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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
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ACLU sues Kansas over Larned State Hospital wait times
Source: Kansas Reflector, by Anna Kaminski
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ACLU sues Indiana over competency restoration delays Statewide
Source: ACLU of Indiana
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Western State Hospital shifts toward forensic patients as its competency waitlist grows
Source: The Seattle Times (via Walla Walla Union-Bulletin), by Esmy Jimenez
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Disability Rights Mississippi sues the mental health department again over records on its forensic unit Statewide
Source: Mississippi Today, by Will Stribling
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Jail inmates file federal class action over South Dakota's delays sending them for competency restoration
Source: KFGO, by Paul Jurgens
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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
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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.
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California Supreme Court lets 28-day admission deadline for incompetent defendants stand Statewide
Source: Courthouse News Service, by Nicholas Iovino
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Appeals court sends Oregon's hospital admission deadline dispute back to the district judge Statewide
Source: KTVZ (Associated Press), by Associated Press
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Sixteen defendants found guilty except for insanity wait in Oregon jails for hospital beds despite orders Statewide
Source: Street Roots, by Henry Brannan
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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)
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California appeals court affirms limits on jail detention for incompetent defendants Statewide
Source: ACLU of Northern California
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New Mexico Supreme Court allows longer commitments for defendants found incompetent and dangerous Statewide
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican, by Victoria Traxler
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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)
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Louisiana court extends oversight of hospital-admission settlement after pandemic disrupts compliance Statewide
Source: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
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Lawsuit challenges California's refusal to admit COVID-positive competency patients Statewide
Source: CalMatters, by Lee Romney
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Pandemic deepens Washington's jail backlog of defendants found unfit to stand trial Statewide
Source: Crosscut (now Cascade PBS), by David Kroman
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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
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Federal judge temporarily loosens Oregon's seven-day hospital admission rule during the pandemic Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
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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
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Pandemic admission limits push Colorado toward millions more in competency fines Statewide
Source: The Gazette (Colorado Springs), by Lance Benzel
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Oregon State Hospital halts most admissions during COVID-19, leaving defendants in county jails Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
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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
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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
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Reporting finds Colorado still under fines and short of competency beds a year after consent decree Statewide
Source: Rocky Mountain PBS, by John Ferrugia
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Federal judge closes Oregon hospital-delay case after state returns to compliance Statewide
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
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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
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Alabama misses nearly all evaluation and admission deadlines 16 months into its competency consent decree Statewide
Source: Alabama Political Reporter, by Eddie Burkhalter
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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)
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Study of 50 states' forensic directors documents 76 percent growth in forensic hospital patients National
Source: CNS Spectrums, by Amanda Wik, Vera Hollen, William H. Fisher
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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
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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)
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Oregon advocates ask a federal judge to force hospital admissions for jailed defendants Statewide
Source: Northwest Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
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Marshall Project and Frontline show Pennsylvania's competency wait as a window on a national problem National
Source: The Marshall Project (with PBS Frontline), by Christie Thompson, Leila Miller, and Manuel Villa
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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)
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Alameda County judge orders California to admit incompetent defendants within 28 days Statewide
Source: ACLU of Northern California
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Colorado settles years-long lawsuit over competency evaluation delays Statewide
Source: Disability Law Colorado
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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
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ABA Journal feature examines how routine forced medication has become in competency restoration National
Source: ABA Journal, by Lee Nacozy
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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
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Family of Virginia jail detainee who died awaiting a hospital bed receives $3 million settlement
Source: WTKR (News 3), Norfolk, by Web Staff
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Attorney seeks contempt against Maine health department after mentally ill defendant waits weeks in jail; judge declines
Source: Portland Press Herald, by Megan Gray
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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
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Washington's mental-health jail-wait fines reach $83 million before settlement Statewide
Source: The Seattle Times, by Martha Bellisle, The Associated Press
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Colorado officials face repeated contempt threats as the competency waitlist balloons Statewide
Source: Colorado Public Radio, by Allison Sherry
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Relatives of Mississippi man jailed 11 years after being found incompetent file $11 million federal suit
Source: WREG (Memphis)
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Allegheny County plans an in-jail restoration program because state hospital waits are too long
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Shelly Bradbury
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Utah forensic waitlist falls to 15 as hospital admissions rise after settlement Statewide
Source: KSL.com, by Wendy Leonard
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Western State Hospital loses federal certification, and the state's forensic role comes into focus
Source: Northwest News Network, by Austin Jenkins
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Disability Law Colorado asks court to force the state to meet competency deadlines Statewide
Source: The Gazette (Colorado Springs), by Jakob Rodgers
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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
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Alabama agrees to 30-day cap on competency wait times in federal consent decree Statewide
Source: ACLU of Alabama
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Demand for competency orders jumps again as Colorado misses its 28-day deadline Statewide
Source: The Denver Post (republished by Corrections1), by Jennifer Brown
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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
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Pennsylvania misses a second settlement deadline for forensic beds as Norristown residents push back and waits approach 14 months
Source: WHYY, by Laura Benshoff
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Maryland forensic services director resigns after contempt ruling over hospital bed shortage Statewide
Source: The Baltimore Sun, by Michael Dresser
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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)
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Baltimore judge holds Maryland health officials in contempt and orders new hospital beds by year-end Statewide
Source: The Baltimore Sun, by Pamela Wood
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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)
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Judge approves Utah settlement setting wait-time limits for competency treatment Statewide
Source: KSL.com, by McKenzie Romero
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Utah settles lawsuit over competency-treatment wait times Statewide
Source: Prison Legal News, by Derek Gilna
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Texas inmates wait longer for state hospital treatment even after a funding increase, AP reports Statewide
Source: Houston Public Media (AP), by Associated Press
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ACLU moves to reopen Pennsylvania's competency-treatment settlement, saying more than 260 defendants are stuck in jails Statewide
Source: WHYY
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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.)
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Judge says Washington's mental-health jail waits have gotten worse, not better Statewide
Source: The Seattle Times, by Martha Bellisle, The Associated Press
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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
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Pulaski County inmate ordered to the Arkansas State Hospital waits weeks as evaluation backlog grows
Source: KARK (Little Rock)
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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.)
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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
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Louisiana agrees to end long wait for psychiatric hospital transfers Statewide
Source: The Advocate (Baton Rouge), by Joe Gyan Jr.
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Colorado settles with Disability Law Colorado, agreeing to an outside consultant on competency delays Statewide
Source: The Gazette (Colorado Springs), by Jakob Rodgers
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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.
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Washington held in contempt over jail 'waiting rooms' for mental health Statewide
Source: Nonprofit Quarterly, by Ruth McCambridge
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Federal judge refuses to dismiss Utah competency-wait lawsuit Statewide
Source: Justia (court opinion), by U.S. District Court, D. Utah
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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
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Pennsylvania settles ACLU competency-wait suit, agreeing to add treatment capacity Statewide
Source: CBS Philadelphia
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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.
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Federal judge orders Nevada to treat jailed incompetent defendants within seven days
Source: KSL.com (Associated Press), by Associated Press
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ACLU sues Pennsylvania over months-long jail waits for court-ordered competency treatment Statewide
Source: WHYY, by Bobby Allyn
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Hundreds of incompetent California defendants wait in county jails as state hospital beds run short Statewide
Source: KQED, by Scott Shafer
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Disability Law Center sues Utah over jail waits for competency treatment Statewide
Source: The Salt Lake Tribune, by Tom Harvey
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Advocates say Colorado is breaching its 2012 deal on speedy competency evaluations Statewide
Source: CBS Colorado (Associated Press), by Dan Elliott
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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
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ACLU files suit over California jail waits for defendants found incompetent to stand trial Statewide
Source: ACLU of Northern California
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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
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Maine health commissioner summoned to contempt hearing over delayed hospital beds for defendants found incompetent
Source: Portland Press Herald, by Scott Dolan
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Federal court rules Washington's competency delays unconstitutional Statewide
Source: Prison Legal News, by Mark Wilson
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Oklahoma's forensic hospital is full as judges press the state over inmates awaiting competency treatment
Source: Oklahoma Watch
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Spokane judge fines Eastern State Hospital for slow competency evaluations as jail waits stretch past a month
Source: The Spokesman-Review, by Rachel Alexander
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State judges begin fining Washington over jail mental-health waits Statewide
Source: HeraldNet, by Martha Bellisle, Associated Press