BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2625
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2014
Counsel: Shaun Naidu
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2625 (Achadjian) - As Amended: March 19, 2014
SUMMARY : Specifies procedures relative to returning to the
court a defendant who is committed to a state hospital for
treatment to regain mental competency but who has not recovered
competence. Specifically, this bill :
1)Changes the requirement that the medical director of the state
hospital or other treatment facility to which a defendant is
confined for treatment to make a written report to the court
and county community program director concerning the
defendant's progress toward recovery of mental competence from
within 90 days of the order of commitment to within 90 days of
admission.
2)Requires the medical director of the state hospital or other
treatment facility to which a defendant is confined for
treatment to regain mental competence to do the following if
the medical director's report concerning the defendant's
progress toward mental competency recovery indicates that
there is no substantial likelihood that the defendant will
regain mental competence in the foreseeable future:
a) Promptly notify and provide a copy of the report to the
defendant's attorney and the district attorney; and,
b) Provide a separate notification, in compliance with
applicable privacy laws, to the committing county's sheriff
that transportation will be needed for the patient.
3)Requires that a defendant committed to a state hospital for
treatment to regain mental competency, but who has not
recovered competence, to be returned to the committing court
no later than 90 days before the expiration of the defendant's
term of commitment.
EXISTING LAW :
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1)Prohibits a person from being tried or adjudged to punishment
while that person is mentally incompetent. (Pen. Code, �
1367, subd. (a).)
2)Defines "mental incompetency" as an individual who, as a
result of mental disorder or developmental disability, is
unable to understand the nature of the criminal proceedings or
to assist counsel in the conduct of a defense in a rational
manner. (Pen. Code, � 1367, subd. (a).)
3)Requires, if during the pendency of an action and prior to
judgment, a doubt arises in the mind of the judge as to the
mental competence of the defendant, the judge to state that
doubt on the record and inquire of the defendant's attorney
whether, in the opinion of that attorney, the defendant is
mentally competent. Requires the court, at the request of the
defendant or his or her attorney, to recess the proceeding for
as long as may be reasonably necessary to permit counsel to
confer with the defendant and to form an opinion as to the
mental competence of the defendant. (Pen. Code, � 1368, subd.
(a).)
4)Requires the trial to determine mental competency to proceed
as follows:
a) Requires the court to appoint a psychiatrist or licensed
psychologist to examine the defendant and to appoint two
psychiatrists or licensed psychologists if the defendant is
not seeking a finding of mental incompetence. Requires the
examining psychiatrist or licensed psychologist to evaluate
the nature of the defendant's mental disorder, if any; the
defendant's ability or inability to understand the nature
of the criminal proceedings or assist counsel in the
conduct of a defense in a rational manner; and whether
treatment with antipsychotic medications is medically
appropriate for the defendant and whether antipsychotic
medication is likely to restore the defendant to
competency.
b) Requires the defendant's attorney to offer evidence in
support of the allegation of mental incompetence.
c) Requires the prosecution to present its case regarding
the issue of the defendant's present mental competence.
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d) Allows each party to present rebutting testimony, unless
the court, for good reason in furtherance of justice, also
permits other evidence in support of the original
contention. (Pen. Code, � 1369.)
5)States that if the defendant is found mentally competent, the
criminal process shall resume, the trial on the offense
charged shall proceed, and judgment may be pronounced. (Pen.
Code, � 1370, subd. (a)(1)(A).)
6)Requires, if the defendant is found mentally incompetent, the
trial or judgment to be suspended until the person becomes
mentally competent. (Pen. Code, � 1370, subd. (a)(1)(B).)
7)Requires the court, if the defendant is found mentally
incompetent, to order the defendant be delivered by the
sheriff to a state hospital for the care and treatment of the
mentally disordered, any other available public or private
treatment facility that will promote the defendant's speedy
restoration to mental competence, or placed on outpatient
status, as specified. Provides, however, that if the offense
for which the defendant was charged with and found to be
mentally incompetent to stand trial for is a felony specified
in the Sex Offender Registration Act, the prosecutor is to
determine if the defendant had previously been found to be
incompetent to stand trial for an offense listed in the Sex
Offender Registration Act or is pending such a hearing, and if
so, after notification to the court and defendant in writing
and opportunity for a hearing, the court is to order the
defendant be delivered by the sheriff to a state hospital or
other secure treatment facility for the care and treatment of
the mentally disordered unless the court makes specific
findings on the record that an alternative placement would
provide more appropriate treatment for the defendant and would
not pose a danger to the health and safety of others (Pen.
Code, � 1370, subd. (a)(1)(B)(i) & (ii).)
8)States that if the offense for which the defendant was charged
with and found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial for
is a felony offense specified in the Sex Offender Registration
Act and the defendant has been denied bail because the court
has found, based upon clear and convincing evidence, a
substantial likelihood that the person's release would result
in great bodily harm to others, the court shall order the
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defendant to be delivered by the sheriff to a state hospital
for the care and treatment of the mentally disordered unless
the court makes specific findings on the record that an
alternative placement would provide more appropriate treatment
for the defendant and would not pose a danger to the health
and safety of others. (Pen. Code, � 1370, subd.
(a)(1)(B)(iii).)
9)Prohibits a defendant charged with a violent felony, as
specified, to be delivered to a state hospital or treatment
facility unless that hospital or facility has a secured
perimeter or a locked and controlled treatment facility and
the judge determines that the public safety will be protected.
(Pen. Code, � 1370, subd. (a)(1)(D).)
10)Requires a medical director of the state hospital or other
treatment facility to which the defendant is confined, or the
outpatient treatment staff if the defendant is on outpatient
status, to make a written report to the court and the
community program director for the county or region of
commitment, or a designee, concerning the defendant's progress
toward recovery of mental competence within 90 days of the
order of commitment, or placement on outpatient status, made
pursuant to the above provisions and at 6-month intervals
thereafter or until the defendant becomes mentally competent.
Requires a copy of these reports be provided to the prosecutor
and defense attorney by the court. (Pen. Code, � 1370, subd.
(b)(1).)
11)Requires the committing court to order the defendant to be
returned to the court for conservatorship proceedings, as
specified, if the report indicates that there is no
substantial likelihood that the defendant will regain mental
competence in the foreseeable future. (Pen. Code, � 1370,
subd. (b)(1).)
12)Requires a defendant who has not recovered mental competence
to be returned to the committing court at the end of 3 years
from the date of commitment or a period of commitment equal to
the maximum term of imprisonment provided by law for the most
serious offense charged in the information, indictment, or
misdemeanor complaint, whichever is shorter. (Pen. Code, �
1370, subd. (c)(1).)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Patients are
taken into DSH custody in order for them to participate in a
program aimed at assisting in the restoration of competency,
in order for the patient to stand trial. Some patients,
however, have severe mental disorders that make it unlikely
that they can be restored to trial competency. For these
patients, the State Hospital issues a progress report to the
committing county court informing them the patient is
Incompetent to Stand Trial (IST). Many counties do not
retrieve these individuals, which then leaves them in the
custody of the State Hospital at a cost of approximately
$200,000 per year, per patient. In addition to this, the
waitlist for IST patients awaiting placement in State
Hospitals is at over 300 individuals. AB 2625 is an agreement
between the Governor's office, county officials, law
enforcement, and DSH in order to get these individuals back
into the custody of the county so that State Hospitals can
begin placing patients on the IST waitlist. This legislation
is sponsored by the Administration and DSH."
2)Incompetency & Conservatorship : The well-established standard
in American jurisprudence regarding a person's mental fitness
to stand trial was laid out by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dusky
v. United States. The Court stated that "the test must be
whether [the defendant] has sufficient present ability to
consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational
understanding-and whether he has a rational as well as factual
understanding of the proceedings against him." (Dusky v.
United States (1960) 362 U.S. 402, 402 [internal quotations
omitted].) California has codified this standard in Penal
Code section 1367, subdivision (a), which bars a person from
being tried or adjudged to punishment if that person, "as a
result of mental disorder or developmental disability, ? is
unable to understand the nature of the criminal proceedings or
to assist counsel in the conduct of a defense in a rational
manner." (Pen. Code, � 1367, subd. (a).) If the court finds
a defendant mentally incompetent to stand trial, the person is
committed to a state hospital or other (inpatient or
outpatient) treatment facility for treatment to regain
competency in order to be brought back to court to face the
charges against him or her. (Pen. Code, � 1370, subd. (a).)
The person statutorily may be committed to the treatment
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facility for 3 years or the period equal to the maximum term
of imprisonment for the most serious underlying offense with
which he or she is charged, whichever is shorter. (Pen. Code,
� 1370, subd. (c)(1).) If the treatment facility determines
that there is no substantial likelihood that the defendant
will regain mental competence in the foreseeable future or if
the patient has not regained competency after this period, the
defendant is returned to the committing court. (Pen. Code, �
1370, subds. (b) & (c).)
When a defendant is returned to the court as described above,
the court may determine a conservatorship is the appropriate
course of action for the defendant. Before the court can
establish a conservatorship pursuant to Penal Code section
1370, the court must make certain findings, namely that the
defendant is "gravely disabled" and that "by reason of a
mental disease, defect, or disorder, the person represents a
substantial danger of physical harm to others."
(Conservatorship of Hofferber (1980) 28 Cal.3d 161, 176-77.)
The following conditions are required for the court to find a
defendant "gravely disabled": (i) the indictment or
information pending against the person at the time of
commitment charges a felony involving death, great bodily
harm, or a serious threat to the physical well-being of
another person; (ii) the indictment or information has not
been dismissed; and (iii) as a result of a mental health
disorder, the person is unable to understand the nature and
purpose of the proceedings taken against him or her and to
assist counsel in the conduct of his or her defense in a
rational manner. (Welf. & Inst. Code, � 5008, subd.
(h)(1)(B).) Once these findings have been made by the court,
it may order the conservatorship investigator of the
committing county to initiate conservatorship proceedings.
(Pen. Code, � 1370, subd. (c)(2).) If the defendant becomes
mentally competent after a conservatorship has been
established, the conservator must certify that fact to the
sheriff, district attorney, committing court, and defendant's
attorney of record (Pen. Code, � 1372, subd. (b).), as failure
to resume court proceedings promptly after the defendant
regains competency may result in the deprivation of the
constitutional right to a speedy trial. (See People v.
Simpson (1973) 30 Cal.App.3d 177.)
3)Argument in Support : The Department of State Hospitals
states, "[t]his bill is intended to help reduce the backlog of
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patients on waitlists in county jails by ensuring IST patients
who cannot be restored to trial competency are returned to
their original county of commitment in a timely manner. The
failure to retrieve IST patients in a timely manner poses a
substantial problem for the justice system by occupying IST
program space needed for other patients waiting in county
jails. It also delays the resolution of court cases of IST
patients who can be restored to competency successfully."
4)Argument in Opposition : California Attorneys for Criminal
Justice's objection to this bill is its fear that changing the
written report to the court on the defendant's progress
towards recovery of mental competence from within 90 days of
the commitment order to within 90 days of admission "is rife
with the potential for substantial delay in the treatment of
those who are in great need of treatment to restore their
mental competence. [] Even under current law requiring the
initial report to be made within 90 days of the commitment
order, there are regular delays of weeks and even months in
getting the IST transported out of county jail, as a result of
overcrowding and bed unavailability in state hospitals and
other treatment facilities. We fear that if there were no
requirement to provide the initial report within 90 days of
the commitment order, which creates a natural tension to get
the IST transported to start his treatment so that a
meaningful report can be provided, IST's [sic] will find
themselves languishing in county jails for much longer periods
as there will be no deadline for providing the initial report
to the court until 90 days after 'admission'. Not only would
this be antithetical to the interests of those suffering from
severe mental disorders, but would be fiscally irresponsible
as it will almost certainly result in longer periods of
incarceration for these unfortunate persons who are IST."
5)Current Legislation :
a) AB 2186 (Lowenthal) would make changes to the process of
involuntary administration of antipsychotic mediation of
individuals who are found to be incompetent to stand trial
and confined in a state hospital or county jail. AB 2186
is pending in this committee.
b) AB 2190 (Maienschein) would allow the court to place a
person found to be incompetent to stand trial or not guilty
by reason of insanity on outpatient status without prior
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confinement for a specified period within a mental health
treatment facility. AB 2190 is pending in this committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Department of State Hospitals (Sponsor)
California Association of Psychiatric Technicians
California District Attorneys Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Opposition
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Analysis Prepared by : Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744