BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1412|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1412
Author: Nielsen (R)
Amended: 5/7/14
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/29/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Knight, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: De Le�n
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Criminal proceedings: mentally incompetent
offenders
SOURCE : California District Attorneys Association
DIGEST : This bill provides that where a person who faces
revocation of mandatory supervision or post release community
supervision (PRCS), may be mentally incompetent, the laws and
procedures concerning defendants who are incompetent to stand
trial or face judgment shall apply.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1. States that a person cannot be tried or adjudged to
punishment while he/she is mentally incompetent (incompetent
to stand trial [IST]).
2. Provides that a defendant is IST where he/she has a mental
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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. Provides the following hearing procedures to determine
whether the defendant is mentally competent or not:
A. The court shall appoint a psychiatrist or psychologist
to examine the defendant. If the defendant is not seeking
a finding of mental incompetence, the court shall appoint
two psychiatrists or psychologists. The examining expert
shall evaluate the nature of the defendant's mental
disorder; his/her ability to understand the proceedings or
assist counsel in the conduct of a defense; and whether or
not treatment with medications is medically appropriate and
likely to restore the defendant to competency.
B. The counsel for the defendant shall offer evidence in
support of the allegation of mental incompetence.
C. The prosecution shall present its case regarding the
issue of the defendant's present mental competence.
D. Each party may present rebutting testimony, unless the
court, for good reason in furtherance of justice, also
permits other evidence in support of the original
contention.
1. States that if the defendant is found mentally competent,
the criminal process shall resume.
2. States that if the defendant is found IST, the matter
shall be suspended until the person becomes mentally
competent.
3. States that prior to committing an IST defendant for
treatment, the court shall determine whether the defendant
consents to the administration of antipsychotic medications,
as specified.
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4. Includes detailed procedures for review of orders for
involuntary antipsychotic medication and to determine
whether a person committed as IST without a medication order
should be medicated.
This bill:
1. Provides that a person cannot have his/her probation,
mandatory supervision, PRCS, or parole revoked while that
person is mentally incompetent, as specified.
2. Authorizes competency hearings if, during revocation
proceedings for violations of probation, mandatory
supervision, PRCS, or parole, a doubt arises in a judge's
mind as to the mental competency of the defendant.
3. Provides that only a court trial is required to determine
competency in any proceeding for a violation of supervision.
4. Provides that the provision of antipsychotic medications to
persons in county jail pending revocation of PRCS not exceed
one year, and for persons pending revocation of mandatory
supervision, shall not exceed the remaining period of
mandatory supervision, as specified.
5. Suspends hearings on alleged violations of supervision if a
defendant is found IST, until the person becomes mentally
competent.
6. States that for proceedings alleging a violation of
mandatory supervision, if person not found gravely disabled,
as specified, court shall reinstate supervision and may
modify terms and conditions of supervision to include mental
health treatment, mental health courts, reentry courts, or
other collaborative justice courts available for improving
mental health of the defendant.
7. Specifies that formal resumption of a revocation hearing for
PRCS or parole must occur within a reasonable time, and in no
event may the defendant be detained in custody for over 180
days from arrest.
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8. Accelerates the timeline required for written progress
reports due to the courts for defendants pending revocation
of PRCS or parole who are found IST.
9. States that, for proceedings alleging a violation of PRCS or
parole, if person not restored to competency within 180 days,
court shall reinstate supervision and may modify terms and
conditions of supervision to include mental health treatment,
mental health courts, reentry courts, or other collaborative
justice courts available for improving mental health of the
defendant.
10.Provides that notwithstanding any other law, if a person
subject to parole is found IST, the court, upon a finding of
probable cause that the person violated a term or condition
of parole, shall remand the person to the custody of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the
jurisdiction of the Board of Parole Hearings for the purpose
of future parole consideration.
11.States that if a defendant is found IST and is
developmentally disabled, in the event of dismissal of
revocation proceedings before the defendant recovers
competence, the defendant may be transferred to a Department
of Developmental Services facility.
12.Provides that time spent by a defendant in a hospital or
other facility as a result of a commitment as mentally
incompetent, shall be credited toward any period of
revocation or remaining term of supervision that was
suspended.
13.Makes other conforming changes to various statutes.
Background
Previously, individuals deemed by the court to be mentally IST
waited in county jails pending transfer to a state hospital for
evaluation and treatment to be restored to competency. However,
the lack of physical space at state hospitals to house ISTs
coupled with difficulty in staffing key personnel at state
hospitals resulted in an extensive backlog of IST commitments in
county jails and extended wait times pending transfer to a state
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hospital.
Pursuant to the Budget Act of 2007, the Department of State
Hospitals (DSH) received a $4.3 million appropriation from the
Legislature to begin pilot programs to examine alternative
approaches to addressing the IST waitlist. After several years,
a pilot program was initiated in San Bernardino County to treat
ISTs in the county jail instead of at a state hospital. In its
January 2012 report, An Alternative Approach: Treating the
Incompetent to Stand Trial, the Legislative Analyst's Office
indicated promising results, "Specifically, we find the pilot
program provides less incentive for potential malingerers, has
greater flexibility to hold down costs, and is able to restore
ISTs to competency in a shorter amount of time than the state
hospitals." In its recommendations to the Legislature, the
Legislative Analyst's Office indicated to further reduce the IST
waitlist, expansion of the pilot into counties with historically
long waitlists should be considered, and specifically noted the
counties of Los Angeles, Kern, and San Diego as prime
candidates.
AB 1470 (Assembly Budget Committee, Chapter 24, Statutes of
2012), the 2012 budget trailer bill on mental health, included a
number of provisions concerning treatment of IST defendants in
county jail treatment facilities and authorized a county mental
health program director to determine whether an IST defendant
should be treated in jail, providing that if a local county jail
treatment facility is selected, the DSH must provide treatment
at the county jail treatment facility and reimburse the county
jail treatment facility for the reasonable costs of the bed
during the treatment.
Comments
According to the author's office, California law has prohibited
a person from being tried or punished while that person is
mentally incompetent. The statutes governing competency to
stand trial apply not only to criminal trials, but also to
probation revocation hearings. In the wake of realignment, two
new classes of supervision were created, mandatory supervision
and PRCS. Mandatory supervision is the portion of a local
prison sentence served in the community under the supervision of
a probation officer. Every day served on mandatory supervision
is deducted from the original prison term. PRCS effectively
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replaced parole for persons who were sentenced to state prison
for non-violent, nonserious, and non-sexual crimes. Rather than
being supervised by a state parole agent upon release from state
prison, they are released on PRCS and supervised by county
probation departments. Unfortunately, while the existing
statutes apply to criminal trials and probation revocation
hearings, they are silent with respect to revocation hearings
for offenders on PRCS and mandatory. When these two classes of
supervision were created in AB 109 (Assembly Budget Committee,
Chapter 15, Statutes of 2011), there were no corresponding
changes made to the laws governing competence.
As a result, there is no lawful mechanism to assist these
offenders when a judge or attorney suspects the offender may not
be competent to understand the proceedings or assist their
attorney in a PRCS or mandatory supervision revocation hearing.
SB 1412 takes the existing process for evaluating and treating
mentally incompetent defendants in criminal trials and probation
revocation hearings, and creates a similar process for use in
PRCS and mandatory supervision revocation hearings.
Prior Legislation
AB 366 (Allen, Chapter 654, Statutes of 2011) modified the
process by which individuals that are declared IST can be
involuntarily medicated.
SB 1794 (Perata, Chapter 486, Statutes of 2004) established the
standards for the administration of antipsychotic medication to
persons found IST.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potentially significant ongoing costs (General Fund*) to
hold additional court hearings to determine competency and
review progress reports of defendants pending revocation
proceedings, as specified.
Potential increase in defendants found eligible for IST
commitment to the DSH. While the annual cost to treat and
house a DSH patient ranges from $180,000 to $220,000, the
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DSH currently has a backlog of 300 IST patients awaiting
commitment in county jails. To the extent DSH is able to
treat persons in county jail treatment facilities and
reimburse local jails for bed space, costs would be
significantly less per patient.
Potentially significant costs (General Fund) to the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to the extent
specified alleged parole violators are found IST and must be
remanded to state prison for future parole consideration by
the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH).
Potentially significant non-reimbursable costs to local
agencies pursuant to court orders, including county
sheriffs, county mental health directors, and public
guardians.
Unknown potential future cost savings (Local/General Fund)
to the extent defendants are successfully treated and avert
revocation proceedings and re-incarceration.
*Trial Court Trust Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/14)
California District Attorneys Association (source)
California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies
California Sheriffs' Association
Mental Health America in California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/23/14)
Disability Rights California
JG:nl 5/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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