Slide 1

Forensic Commitment in West VirginiaJune 2019 Public Defender Conference

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Slide 2 Jason D. Parmer

Staff Attorney Responsible for Monitoring of State Facilities.

Education:

▪ B.A., Concord College, 1995

▪ J.D., WVU College of Law, 1999

▪ Other CLEs presented: Motionpractice, Fourth Amendmentjurisprudence, W.Va.R.Evid. 404(b).

Licensed to Practice Law:

▪ Supreme Court of Appeals of WestVirginia

▪ United States District Courts forthe Northern & Southern Districtsof West Virginia

▪ United States Court of Appeals forthe Fourth Circuit

▪ United States Supreme Court ofAppeals

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Slide 3 Forensic Commitment

A Forensic Commitment is a specialtype of involuntary commitment ofindividuals with a mental illness or anintellectual/developmental disabilitywho are charged with a crime and arecriminally committed to a mentalhealth facility.

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Slide 4 William R. Sharpe, Jr. Hospital

(304) 269-1210Dr. John Justice, Forensic Medical DirectorJenny Fleming, Interim ForensicCoordinator

Other Forensic Diversion Hospitals▪ Highland Clarksburg Hospital▪ River Park Hospital

Forensic Group Homes▪ Sharpe Transitional Living Facility▪ Mimosa▪ Williamstown▪ Marlinton▪ Browns Mill▪ Maplewood▪ Orion House

302 forensic patients (6-6-2019)

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Slide 5

Rights Implicated by Involuntary Commitment

▪ Equal Protection

▪ Procedural Due Process

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Slide 6

Involuntary Commitment Impacts an Individual’s Liberty Interest

Procedural Due Process

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Slide 7

Proce d u ra l Due Proce ss Rig h ts

▪ Freedom from Bodily Restraint

▪ Must be Competent to Stand Trial

▪ Periodic Review of Commitment

▪ Clear and Convincing Evidence

▪ Presently Mentally Ill and Dangerous

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Slide 8

Procedural Due Process Applies to NGRMI Acquittees

Vitek v. Jones, 445 U.S. 480 (1980) (holding that a prison inmate is entitled to due process before transfer to a psychiatric facility).

Jones v. U.S., 463 U.S. 354 (1983) (approves automatic indefinite commitment after NGRMI verdict, provided commitment ends when acquittee regains sanity or is no longer dangerous; length of acquittee’s hypothetical criminal sentence has no bearing on length of commitment).

Foucha v. Louisiana, 504 U.S. 71 (1992) (holding that forensic commitment of NGRMI acquittee cannot be continued absent clear and convincing evidence of mental illness and dangerousness).

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Slide 9 Incompetent & Unrestorable

Jackson v. Indiana, 406 U.S. 715 (1972).

Indefinite commitment solely on account of hislack of capacity to stand trial violates EqualProtection & Procedural DueProcess.

“ At the least, due process requires that thenature and duration of commitment bearsome reasonable relation to the purpose forwhich the individual iscommitted.”

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Slide 10

Involuntary Commitment for Competency Restoration

27-6A-2, 3

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Slide 11

Procedural Due Process Requires that the Accused be Competent to Stand Trial.

“An accused person, although he may have been sane at the t ime of the acts charged, cannot be [properly] tried, sentenced, or punished while mentally incapacitated.”

Syllabus Point 1, State v. Arnold, 159 W.Va. 158 (1975), see Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 378 (1966); Cooper v. Oklahoma, 517 U.S. 348, 354 (1996).

“ It is a fundamental guarantee of due process that a defendant cannot be tried or convicted for a crime while he or she is mentally incompetent.”

Syllabus Point 6, State v. Hatfield, 186 W.Va. 507 (1991).

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Slide 12

Definition of Competence to Stand Trial

Ability to assist in the preparat ion of his defense.

Sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer

with a reasonable degree of rat ional understanding.

A rat ional, as well as factual, understanding of the

proceedings against him.

Syllabus Point 2, Arnold; see Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402 (1960)

(per curiam). Syllabus Point 1, in part, State v. Milam, 159 W.Va. 691 (1976).

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Slide 13

§ 27-6A-2

Initial Competency Evaluation

Init ial evaluat ion

shall not be

conducted at a

state inpat ient

mental health

facility unless the

defendant resides

there.

If defendant is

uncooperat ive or

there are

conflict ing forensic

evaluat ions,

defendant may be

committed to a

mental health

facility for no more

than 15 days for an

addit ional

evaluat ion.

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Slide 14

An Evaluation Must be Ordered

“ When a trial judge is made aware of a possible problem with defendant’s competency, it is abuse of discretion to deny a motion for psychiatric evaluation….”

Syllabus Point 4, in part, State v. Demastus, 165 W.Va. 572 (1980).

“ Since the right not to be tried while mentally incompetent is subject to neither waiver or forfeiture … a trial court has an affirmative duty to employ adequate procedures for determining competency once the issue has come to the attention of the court, whether though formal motion by one of the parties or as a result of information that becomes available in the course of criminal proceedings.”

State v. Sanders at 377.

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Slide 15

Criteria for Determining whether a Competency Evaluation is Required.

“ Evidence of irrational behavior, a historyof mental illness or behavioralabnormalit ies, previous confinement formental disturbance, demeanor before thetrial judge, psychiatric and lay testimonybearing on the issue of competency, anddocumented proof of mental disturbanceare all factors which a trial judge mayconsider in the proper exercise of his [orher] discretion [to order an inquiry intothe mental competence of a criminaldefendant]…. [A] lawyer’s representationconcerning the competence of hisclient isunquestionably a factor which should beconsidered.”

State v. Arnold at 163-64, citing Drope v.Missouri, 420 U.S. 162 (1975).

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Slide 16 Jud g e s Ha ve a C on tin u in g O b lig a tion to Mon ito r the C om p e te n ce of a C r im in a l De fe n d a n t.

“ [T]he fact that a defendant has been afforded a mental status evaluation and later been found competent to stand trial following an adversarial hearing does not relieve a trial court of its responsibility to remain watchful and vigilant as to the possibility that the defendant may lapse into incompetency during the course of subsequent proceedings.”

State v. Sanders, 209 W.Va. 367, 378 (2001).

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Slide 17

When Can Your Client’s

Competency be Evaluated Again?

“ Where a criminal defendant has already been afforded a competency hearing … and been found mentally competent to stand trial, a trial court need not suspend proceedings for purposes of permitt ing further psychiatric evaluation or conducting an additional hearing unless it is presented with new evidence casting serious doubt on the validity of the earlier competency finding, or with an intervening change of circumstances that renders the prior determination an unreliable gauge of present mental competency.”

Syllabus Point 4, State v. Sanders.

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Slide 18

A Defendant’s Competency Should be Evaluated After a Suicide Attempt.

Syllabus Point 2, State v. Watson, 173 W.Va. 553 (1984); see State v. Echard, 167 W.Va. 900

(1981) (where trial judge was aware defendant had tried to kill himself 3 t imes while await ing

trial, it was abuse of discretion to refuse to order a mental examination).

“ Genuine attempts at suicide constitute evidence of irrational behavior. When these acts are

brought to the attention of a trial judge, he should order a psychiatric

examination of a defendant.”

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Slide 19 § 27-6A-3 Competency Hearing and

Required Factual Findings.

▪ Court makes preliminary findings.

▪ Hearing requested? “Timely and adequate” not ice of issues andaccess to all forensic evaluator opinions. Preponderance ofevidence.

▪ If present ly incompetent , is there a substant ial likelihood ofrestorat ion in next 3 months? Is inpat ient management in a mentalhealth facilit y required for restorat ion?

Although it is an option in the statute, currently there are no outpatient competency restoration services available in West

Virginia.

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Slide 20

§ 27-6A-3(h ) Disp os ition o f In com p e te n t & Un re s to ra b le De fe n d a n t.

No violence against person?

▪ Dismiss charges with a 20-day stay to allow the prosecutor t o f ile civil commitment proceedings.

Violence against person?

▪ Court retains jurisdict ion for t he maximum sentence unless defendant at tains competency or court dismisses charges.

▪ Court shall order commitment to a mental health facilit y t hat is t he least rest rict ive environment t o manage the defendant and protect t he public.

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Slide 21 § 27-6A-3(i) Discharge of Incompetent and Unrestorable Defendants to a Less-Restrictive Placement.

If the court receives notice from the mental health facility that the defendant no

longer constitutes a signif icant danger to self or others, the court shall conduct a

hearing to consider evidence, with due consideration of the dangerousness report or

clinical summary report, to determine if the defendant shall be released to a less

restrict ive environment.

The court may order the release to a less restrict ive environment only when the

court f inds that the defendant is no longer a significant danger to self or

others. The court can also order the defendant to cont inue treatment, including

medicat ions.

The court shall maintain jurisdiction over the defendant if discharged to a less-

restrictive environment.

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Slide 22

What About Innocence?

Judicial hearing of a defense when the defendant is incompetent to stand trial.

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Slide 23

§ 27-6A-6 Judicial hearing of defense other than NGRMI.

An attorney for a defendant found incompetent and unrestorable may request an opportunity to offer a defense on the merits. If the court f inds insufficient evidence to support a convict ion, it shall dismiss the indictment and order the release of the defendant with a 10 day stay to allow the prosecutor to f ile civil commitment proceedings.

• No jury

• No right of confrontat ion

• No speedy trial

• Does not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Slide 24 Criminal Responsibility (NGRMI)

§§ 27-6A-4, 5

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Slide 25

Purpose of Periodic Review

Even if the “ involuntaryconfinement was init iallypermissible, it could notconstitut ionally continueafter that basis no longerexisted.”

O’Connor v. Donaldson, 422 U.S.563, 574-75 (1975).

“We have held that theperiodic reviewsdescribed in the recordreduce the risk of errorin the init ial admissionand thus they arenecessary.”

Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 583, 617(1979).

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Slide 26

Procedural Due Process Requires

Periodic Review of Involuntary

Commitments.

The due process requirement to “ release the committed when they deserve to be let out is toothless if a state does not periodically review whether the grounds of commitment are met.”

J.R. v. Hansen, 803 F.3d 1315 (11th Cir. 2015).

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Slide 27

§ 27-6A-4(e) Periodic Review?

“The medical director of the mental health facility shall provide the court a written clinical summary report of the defendant’s condition at least annually during the time of the court’s jurisdiction.”

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Slide 28

§ 27-6A-5(a) Release of NGRMI Acquittee to Less Restrictive Environment

If, at any t ime prior to the expirat ion of the court ’s

jurisdict ion, the chief medical officer of the mental health

facility believes that the acquit tee is not mentally ill or

dangerous, he/ she shall f ile with the court not ice of the

belief and submit evidence in support thereof.

The court shall hold a hearing within 30 days to consider

evidence as to whether the acquit tee shall be released

from the mental health facility to a less-restrict ive

environment.

If the court determines the acquit tee can be released to a

less-restrict ive sett ing, the court shall release the acquit tee

on terms and condit ions that are protect ive and

therapeutic in nature, not punit ive.

The Court shall maintain jurisdict ion of the defendant.

No authority to terminate jurisdict ion.

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Slide 29 What Less Restrictive Environments?

o Forensic Group Homes35 beds

o Step-down UnitsAvailable for civilly committedindividuals, but not forensiccommitments.

o Electronic MonitoringNot available.

oComprehensive Behavioral Health Centers

Have right of refusal and do notaccept forensic pat ients for outpat ientt reatment.

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Slide 30 Message from Pat Ryan, CEO, Sharpe Hospital

Forensic commitment results in lengthierdetention.

Judicial discretion is the main barrier to discharge;your advocacy is not complete after commitment.

Return phone calls.

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Slide 31

WVCSR 64-59 Behavioral Health Client Rights

2.1 Applies to State-operated

behavioral health facilit ies.

2.2 Enforceable by individual civil

act ion.

5.3 Civil rights.

5.6 Right to Least Restrict ive

Resident ial Sett ing.

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Slide 32

WVCSR 64-59 Behavioral Health Client Rights

5.8 No Deprivat ion of Rights as

Punishment.

6.2 Cannot be admit ted to a

behavioral health facility for the sole

purpose of confinement.

6.8 “Explicit discharge plans” shall be

writ ten for inpat ient clients.

6.10 Treatment plans review every 90

days to determine the need for

cont inued inst itut ionalization.

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Slide 33

WVCSR 64-59 Behavioral Health Client Rights

6.13 Evidence of Treatment shall be

documented in client ’s record.

7.2 Freedom from Unnecessary or

Excessive Medicat ion.

7.3 Medicat ion Shall Not Be Used As

Punishment.

10.1 et seq. Seclusion and Restraint only

when there is imminent danger to

self/ others and approved by physician.

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Slide 34

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Slide 35

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Slide 36

Contact

1207 Quarrier Street, Suite 400

Charleston, West Virginia 25301

(304) 346-0847 x17

jparmer@drofwv.org

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