BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2186
Author: Lowenthal (D), et al.
Amended: 8/20/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/10/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, De Le�n, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mitchell
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/8/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Defendants: competency
SOURCE : Department of State Hospitals
DIGEST : This bill allows the representative of any facility
where a defendant found incompetent to stand trial (IST) is
committed, and specified others, to petition for an order to
involuntarily medicate the defendant, and, upon issuance of that
order; authorizes the involuntary administration of
antipsychotic medication to the defendant when and as prescribed
by the defendant's treating psychiatrist at any facility housing
him/her for purposes of recovering mental competency; and makes
other related changes, as specified.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/20/14 add double-jointing language
with SB 1412 (Nielsen) and AB 2625 (Achadjian).
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ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.States that a person cannot be tried or adjudged to punishment
while he/she is mentally IST.
2.Provides that a defendant is incompetent to stand trial where
he/she has a mental disorder or developmental disability that
renders him/her unable to understand the nature of the
criminal proceedings or assist counsel in his/her defense.
3.States that if the court has a doubt as to whether or not a
defendant is IST, the court shall state that doubt on the
record and shall seek defense counsel's opinion as to the
defendant's competence.
4.States that if the defendant is found IST, the matter shall be
suspended until the person becomes mentally competent.
5.States that prior to committing an IST defendant for
treatment, the court shall determine whether the defendant
consents to the administration of antipsychotic medications.
6.Provides that if the administrative law judge upholds the
certification by the treating psychiatrist for involuntary
medication of the defendant for 21 days, the psychiatrist
shall file with the court a copy of the certification and a
petition for an order authorizing involuntary medications:
A. The court shall provide notice to the prosecutor and
counsel for the defendant of the pending hearing.
B. The court shall hold the hearing within 18 days of the
issuance of the certification and determine if a formal
order for involuntary medication should be made.
C. The court shall issue its decision within three calendar
days, but no later than the expiration of the 21-day
certification period.
This bill:
1.Requires the court, when determining if grounds exist for
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ordering involuntary administration of antipsychotic
medication to an IST defendant, to consider the reports
prepared by the psychiatrist or psychologist who examined the
defendant for mental competency purposes, per se, if those
reports are applicable to the involuntary medication issue.
2.Provides that an order for involuntary medication shall remain
valid at any facility housing the defendant for purposes of
return to competency and resumption of criminal proceedings,
if the medication is prescribed by the defendant's treating
psychiatrist.
3.Provides that if an administrative law judge upholds the
21-day certification by the treating psychiatrist that
antipsychotic medication has become medically necessary and
appropriate while the defendant is being treated, the court
may extend the certification and continue the hearing for no
more than 14 days, upon a showing of good cause or the
stipulation of the parties.
4.Allows the district attorney, county counsel, or
representative of any facility where a defendant found IST is
committed to petition the court for an order, reviewable as
specified, to administer involuntary medication pursuant to
specified criteria.
5.Requires the court to review the order to administer
involuntary medication at the time of the review of the
initial competency report by the medical director of the
treatment facility and at review of the six-month progress
reports.
6.Allows the district attorney, county counsel, or
representative of any facility where a defendant found IST is
committed, within 60 days before the expiration of the
one-year involuntary medication order, to petition the
committing court for a renewal of the order, subject to the
specified conditions and requirements.
A. The petition shall include the basis for involuntary
medication, as specified, and requires notice of the
petition to be provided to the defendant, the defendant's
attorney, and the district attorney.
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B. The court shall hear and determine if the defendant
continues to meet the required criteria for involuntary
medication and that the hearing be conducted before the
expiration of the current order.
1. Contains double-jointing language with SB 1412 (Nielsen)
and AB 2625 (Achadjian).
Comments
According to the author's office:
Under existing law, when a defendant's competency to stand trial
is in doubt, he or she is evaluated by a court-appointed mental
health expert and a hearing is held on the issue. If the
defendant is found IST, he/she is typically transferred to a
state hospital for treatment to restore competency.
IST defendants are usually held in the county jail pending the
transfer to a state hospital. While the Department of State
Hospitals (DSH) has increased treatment capacity, the demand is
greater than the supply of beds, with a waiting list of between
300 to 350 defendants. The wait for admission can vary from a
couple of weeks to six months. To address the shortage of
treatment beds, DSH has initiated projects for treatment of
mentally-ill offenders and IST defendants in county jails,
streamlined programs and better aligned reporting requirements.
One barrier to lasting competency is the disconnect between a
state hospital and county jail systems. Currently, an order for
involuntary medication is only valid at a DSH facility and
becomes invalid upon return of the defendant to county jail
following the restoration of competency. The defendant may not
receive any medication unless local authorities seek a new order
from the superior court. Court congestion can delay new
treatment orders or extension of existing orders. Any gap in
medication can result in the defendant decompensating to the
point of incompetency once again, necessitating DSH
recommitment. Delays in treatment put the defendant's mental
health at risk and result in unnecessary costs to the state for
additional DSH treatment.
In addition, reporting requirements for the defendant's progress
and involuntary treatment orders often result in overlapping
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reporting timelines. Existing law currently requires a report
and review of the involuntary treatment orders six months after
the order was first issued. Progress reports for a defendant's
competency restoration are also on a six-month timeline.
However, because the two timetables for the two different
reports are not synched, reports can be made within days or
weeks of each other when they could be aligned. This bill
aligns the reports, providing the court with a complete
analysis.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/21/14)
Department of State Hospitals (source)
California Association of Psychiatric Technicians
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/8/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Eggman, Gorell, Mansoor, V. Manuel
P�rez, Vacancy
JG:e 8/21/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
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